Open innovation: what it is, benefits, and examples of collaboration between startups and companies

Innovation has become a decisive factor for business competitiveness. In an increasingly dynamic, digitalized, and changing environment, companies need to find new ways to adapt, grow, and respond agilely to market challenges. In this context, collaboration between startups and corporations has become an effective route to drive the development of innovative solutions and speed up the adoption of new technologies.

This approach, known as open innovation, combines startups’ adaptability and dynamism with large companies’ experience, resources, and industry knowledge. The result is a model that promotes the creation of shared value, boosts competitiveness, and makes it possible to tackle increasingly complex challenges from a collaborative perspective.

Spain has become one of the most advanced European countries in this field. 79% of the Spanish companies surveyed have dedicated teams to manage open innovation initiatives, a sign of the growing importance this model is gaining within business strategies. Thanks to these alliances, corporations gain access to external talent, knowledge, and technologies, while startups find opportunities to validate their solutions, expand their network of contacts, and accelerate their growth.

With the aim of exploring this reality in greater depth, the ONE Platform has published the monograph “The success of open innovation: collaboration between startups and corporations in Spain”. Based on its main conclusions, in this post we explore how this model works, what the most common collaboration formulas are, what benefits it brings to each party, what challenges must be overcome for these alliances to succeed, and what trends will shape its evolution in the coming years.

What is open innovation?

Open innovation is a model that encourages knowledge sharing and collaboration among organizations, startups, universities, technology centers, and other ecosystem players. Unlike traditional models, where innovation was developed exclusively within the company, this approach seeks to integrate external capabilities to speed up development processes and generate new opportunities.

This model has evolved from a theoretical concept to an increasingly professionalized practice. Today, many organizations have dedicated teams, methodologies, and tools to drive open innovation projects and deliver measurable results.

Benefits of open innovation for startups and companies

Open innovation brings advantages to both corporations and startups.

On the one hand, corporations can adopt innovative technologies more quickly, access new capabilities, and reduce the risks associated with developing new solutions in-house. In addition, they foster a more innovative culture and strengthen their competitive position. 

On the other hand, startups gain access to industry expertise, infrastructure, contact networks, and validation opportunities that can significantly accelerate their growth. Collaboration also helps them build credibility with customers, investors, and other relevant market players.

The combination of startups’ agility and large organizations’ resources creates an especially favorable environment for innovation and the development of new solutions. 

Most commonly used open innovation models

Open innovation can take many forms depending on each organization’s objectives, resources, and needs. There is no single formula for collaboration: companies and startups can establish different types of relationships depending on the kind of innovation they aim to promote, the maturity level of the solutions, or the desired level of involvement from each party.

Among the most common models are shared-resource programs, corporate challenges, hackathons, scouting initiatives, strategic partnerships, corporate incubators and accelerators, the venture client model, corporate venture capital (CVC), or acquisitions. All of them pursue the same goal: connecting startups and corporations to develop innovative solutions, solve specific challenges, and generate value jointly.

Choosing the most suitable model will depend on factors such as the organization’s strategy, available resources, the level of risk it is willing to assume, and the maturity of the solutions it seeks to adopt. Selecting the right approach is key to maximizing the impact of collaboration and increasing the chances of success for projects.

Open innovation success stories in Spain

Open innovation is already generating impact in key sectors of the Spanish economy.

In the energy sector, collaboration between Naturgy and Fuvex made it possible to develop solutions for inspecting power grids using BVLOS drones, improving operational efficiency and reducing CO₂ emissions.

In the rail sector, TrenLab and Greemko collaborated to automate the management of data related to Renfe’s carbon footprint, strengthening the company’s sustainability goals.

Meanwhile, Opentop Hub and Gandolapp developed tools to optimize port traffic and reduce waiting times in logistics operations, contributing to more efficient freight transport management. 

Likewise, Bilakatu and Contestia worked together to improve the management of open innovation initiatives and expand the reach of their solutions. 

These cases show how collaboration can translate into tangible results and create real impact across different industries. 

Challenges of open innovation

Despite its advantages, open innovation also faces significant challenges.

Key barriers include difficulties in allocating time to project validation, differing expectations between organizations, bureaucratic processes, and resistance to change within some corporate structures.

Overcoming these obstacles requires defining clear goals from the outset, establishing transparent collaboration mechanisms, and fostering an organizational culture that is open to experimentation and continuous learning. 

The future lies in collaborating more—and better

The trends identified in the monograph point to greater integration of models such as venture building and cross-sector collaborations. Corporations are increasingly looking for alliances that deliver concrete results and enable new solutions to reach the market faster. 

At the same time, interest is growing in combining capabilities among companies, startups, and other stakeholders to tackle complex challenges related to sustainability, mobility, or digital transformation. 

Innovating through collaboration to grow

Open innovation has become a key strategy to boost competitiveness, accelerate the adoption of new technologies, and generate sustainable value. For startups, corporations, and investors, it represents an opportunity to connect knowledge, resources, and capabilities with a shared goal: turning challenges into growth opportunities.

For those who want to dive deeper into this model, the ONE Platform offers various specialized resources that address open innovation from different perspectives. In addition to the monograph on collaboration between startups and companies in Spain, you can consult the infographic “Practical guide to driving open innovation in your company”, designed to help organizations design and implement collaboration strategies.

Also of interest is the post “Open innovation as a driver of the energy transition”, which shows how these alliances are driving the development of innovative solutions in energy and sustainability. Likewise, the post “Open innovation, understood as collaborative work with partners and startups, is essential to creating value” explores the role of strategic collaborations in accelerating innovation and connecting companies with new technological capabilities.