Question 1

What is OpenI Hub?

Accepted Answer

OpenI Hub is an AI-powered open innovation marketplace. It lets corporates, investors, government bodies and academia search 575,000+ startups in plain English, post innovation challenges, and connect directly with founders and partners. It is ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified and free to start.

Question 2

Who is OpenI Hub for?

Accepted Answer

OpenI Hub serves four main audiences: corporates sourcing startups and running open-innovation challenges; investors discovering and evaluating deal flow; government and academia connecting with the deep-tech ecosystem; and startups looking to be found by partners, customers and funders.

Question 3

How does the AI evaluation framework work?

Accepted Answer

OpenI Hub evaluates startups using an 8-vector AI framework that scores each company across multiple dimensions of innovation, traction and fit. This lets you compare and shortlist startups objectively instead of relying on keyword matching alone.

Question 4

How do I search 575,000+ startups in plain English?

Accepted Answer

You describe what you are looking for in natural language — for example "deep-tech climate startups in India with corporate pilots" — and OpenI Hub returns ranked, AI-evaluated matches. There is no need to learn filters or boolean syntax; the AI interprets your intent.

Question 5

Can I find deep-tech startups in a specific sector?

Accepted Answer

Yes. OpenI Hub covers startups across sectors and lets you source by industry, technology area and stage. You can search by sector in plain English and refine the results, then connect directly with the founders of the startups that fit your brief.

Question 6

Where does OpenI Hub get its startup data?

Accepted Answer

OpenI Hub aggregates startup data from public and curated sources and enriches it with AI. Founders can claim and update their own profiles, so the platform combines broad coverage with first-party, founder-verified information.

Question 7

How do I run an open-innovation challenge?

Accepted Answer

Corporates and other organisations can post an innovation challenge describing the problem they want solved. The challenge is published to the marketplace, startups apply with their solutions, and you evaluate and shortlist applicants using OpenI Hub’s AI scoring and review tools.

Question 8

Who can respond to a challenge?

Accepted Answer

Any eligible startup on OpenI Hub can apply to a public challenge. As the challenge owner you can also invite specific startups directly, and add reviewers to your team to help evaluate the applications.

Question 9

How are challenge applicants evaluated?

Accepted Answer

Applicants are scored with the same AI evaluation framework used across OpenI Hub, and you can add your own reviewers to assess each submission. This gives you a consistent, comparable shortlist rather than a pile of unstructured pitches.

Question 10

Is OpenI Hub free to start?

Accepted Answer

Yes. OpenI Hub has a Free plan so you can start searching startups and exploring the marketplace at no cost. Paid Pro and Enterprise plans add more capacity and features for teams that need them.

Question 11

What do the paid plans cost?

Accepted Answer

OpenI Hub offers three tiers: Free at ₹0, Pro at ₹2,499, and Enterprise at ₹9,999. The Free plan lets you get started, while Pro and Enterprise unlock higher limits and advanced capabilities for active sourcing and challenge teams.

Question 12

Is OpenI Hub secure?

Accepted Answer

OpenI Hub is ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified, an internationally recognised standard for information security management. The platform is operated by OpenI Partners LLP.

Question 13

How do startups claim their profile?

Accepted Answer

Startups can register on OpenI Hub and claim their existing profile to verify ownership. Once claimed, founders control their own profile data, and OpenI Hub will not overwrite founder-filled information with automated enrichment.

Questions about OpenI Hub

About OpenI Hub

Searching and sourcing startups

Running innovation challenges

Pricing and access

Trust, security and data

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