About >> Our purpose, history and principles
We exist to make dependable company data open to all
We all need legal-entity data we can trust
Legal entities are the atomic elements behind the entire business world – and increasingly every other part of our lives too.
How many contracts did you enter into this week — either explicitly or by agreeing to an end-user license agreement, or by installing an app on your phone?
Each of those contracts was with something with legal personality – almost always a "legal entity".
Legal entities are also the conduits for all large-scale criminal activity, from enabling corruption, organized crime and money laundering to their use in fraud, tax evasion and undermining democratic institutions.
OpenCorporates was conceived to make this underlying dataset more visible, more accessible and more usable – for everyone, from journalists to banks, citizens to corporations, NGOs to law enforcement.
A foundation for good
OpenCorporates was founded in 2010 to transform corporate transparency, specifically by making legal-entity data more accessible, more usable, and better quality too.
This isn’t just hyperbole; it’s written into our articles of association, and so we have a legal obligation to do it. We're also a certified B Corp, recognised for our high standards of performance, accountability, and transparency.
Legal entities are the fundamental structures that underpin the entire business world, and in a highly connected digital world, the whole of society too.
Which is why it’s vital that the data that defines them – their existence, ownership, activities and beneficiaries – is not just public, but connected in a single unified dataset, available for all.
Our journey
For over 10 years we have lead the cause for open data. We've built a data platform to provide a single unified view of the company universe. Data that’s trusted, rich and open to all. Here are a few highlights.
December 2010
OpenCorporates starts
OpenCorporates launches with 3 jurisdictions and 3-million legal entitiesDefault text
May 2012
Open Government Partnership — Brasilia
Reports on the state of corporate-data openness at Open Government Partnership
June 2013
World Bank — Washington
Launches Open Company Data Index in partnership with the World Bank
June 2014
GLEIF — Basel
Founder joins inaugural board of Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) set up by the G20
July 2014
UK Companies House — London
Lobbying leads to UK Companies House making data openly available
July 2015
October 2015
Global Witness — London
Global Witness uses our data to uncover corruption in Myanmar's multi-billion dollar jade industry
Read MoreApril 2016
Global Beneficial Ownership Register launched
Launches Global Beneficial Ownership Register with Global Witness, and Transparency International and others
Read MoreApril 2016
Panama Papers — Washington
OpenCorporates used by ICIJ to cleanup and match Panama Papers prior to publication
July 2018
Advises US Treasury — Washington
OpenCorporates advises US Treasury on retirement of DUNS as the unique ID to improve efficiency, compliance and risk
May 2019
Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project — London
OpenCorporates joins UK Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project
September 2019
Montreal Superior Court
Wins court battle against Quebec company register to protect open access
Read MoreSeptember 2020
UK Financial Conduct Authority — London
UK Financial Conduct Authority starts using OpenCorporates data
October 2020
EU Anti-Fraud Office — Brussels
European Anti-Fraud Office starts using OpenCorporates data
May 2020
US covid fund exploitation exposed
Data used by The Times newspaper to expose exploitation of USA PPP covid bailout fund
April 2021
Advises on EU Open-Data Directive — Brussels
We advise EU on drafting of Open-Data Directive, forcing Europe-wide application of open-company data standards
July 2021
Illinois State open for business
Lobbying leads to Illinois State legislature to open its company data — the last US state to restrict access
September 2022
October 2022
UK Economic Crime Bill — London
OpenCorporates provides expert input to UK Houses of Parliament
Read MoreMarch 2023
UN and OECD — Washington, London
UNSD & OECD use our data to help world understand multinational enterprises
Read MoreApril 2023
GLEIF — Basel
GLEIF and OpenCorporates expand partnership to increase legal-entity transparency
Read MoreMay 2023
Microsoft — Seattle
Microsoft and OpenCorporates partner to enable global business transparency
Read MoreOctober 2023
Certified as a B Corp
OpenCorporates is recognised for its high standards of performance, accountability, and transparency.
Read More
We live by our principles
Our rapidly evolving world – mass digitisation, wholly automated systems, and of course AI – demands a paradigm shift in legal-entity data accuracy, dependability and trustworthiness.
That’s why OpenCorporates has built on our 10+ years of expertise to create the Legal-Entity Data Principles.
These principles are what we believe should define trust in the company data world. They're published under an open license so anyone can use them.
