The End of Theatre: The Changing Playbook of Open Innovation in Singapore

Vertex Open Innovation Report 2025

Open innovation has entered a new phase. What was once driven by hackathons, pilots, and experimentation is now being reshaped by cost pressure, accountability, and the need for measurable outcomes.

In this report, Vertex brings together perspectives from corporate leaders across Singapore to examine how open innovation is evolving in practice—where it delivers impact, where it breaks down, and what it takes to move from pilot to scale.

Key Insights

• Innovation is now operational
  Open innovation has moved beyond side projects and become part of core business strategy.
• Execution is the real challenge
  Most initiatives don’t fail at the pilot stage—they fail in the transition to adoption.
• ROI has replaced experimentation
  Corporates increasingly expect measurable outcomes within 6–12 months.
• Startups are fast—but hard to integrate
  The value is clear, but timelines, processes, and risk tolerance still don’t align.
• Design for scale from day one
  The best teams define ownership, metrics, and adoption pathways early.
• Ecosystems will define the next phase
  Innovation is shifting from isolated pilots to coordinated, multi-party collaboration.

What You’ll Learn

• How corporates in Singapore are operationalising open innovation
• The models that work—from venture clienting to co-development
• Why most corporate–startup partnerships stall
• How leading companies move from pilot to scale
• Key trends shaping the next phase: AI, ESG, and ecosystem play

Download the Report

If you’re building or scaling open innovation, this report offers a practical, unfiltered view of what it takes to make it work.