Plug and Play: Matching Corporates with Start-ups to Accelerate Open Innovation (Abridged Version)

Plug and Play, one of the world’s largest innovation platforms, built a marketplace to connect start-ups with corporates seeking to accelerate open innovation. Founded by Saeed Amidi in Silicon Valley, the organization evolved from a real estate venture on University Avenue in Palo Alto into a global platform operating an equity-free accelerator and a corporate start-up matchmaking (CSM) model supported by a “3E” process of Exploration, Education, and Execution. The case traces Plug and Play’s origins, the emergence of its corporate side, and its international expansion, illustrated through partnerships with BNP Paribas in Paris and with Lavazza and other founding partners of the Milan office. It invites discussion of how open innovation platforms can scale globally while preserving the local responsiveness that makes matchmaking effective in practice.

By the end of the discussion, participants should be able to:
(1) explain how corporate–start-up matchmaking differs from traditional corporate R&D, M&A, and corporate venture capital approaches to innovation;
(2) analyse the building blocks of Plug and Play’s business model, including its equity-free accelerator and the “3E” process of Exploration, Education, and Execution;
(3) evaluate the conditions under which open innovation platforms create value for corporates, start-ups, and the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem; and
(4) discuss the strategic tension between global scale and local responsiveness that platforms like Plug and Play face as they expand across geographies, industries, and innovation cultures.