<p>Existing studies still lack a systematic deconstruction of how data influences the quantity, quality, and forms of collaborative innovation within enterprises. Based on the practice of urban public data open access, we constructed a multi-period Difference-in-Differences (DID) model using data from 1053 listed Chinese enterprises between 2008 and 2021 to examine the impact of public data open access on collaborative innovation among enterprises. We found that: (1) Public data open access significantly promotes collaborative innovation among enterprises. Key mechanisms include reducing transactional institutional costs, enhance intellectual property awareness, addressing talent shortages, and enabling the efficient utilization of capital and information. (2) Public data open access can significantly promote collaborative innovation among enterprises in central cities, innovation-intensive industries, and non-state-owned enterprises, primarily driving the development of enterprise-to-enterprise collaborative innovation models. (3) Public data open access can enhance both the quantity and quality of collaborative innovation among enterprises, empowering high-quality cooperative development. The research findings hold significant policy implications for further advancing the orderly opening of public data to foster a landscape of high-quality collaborative innovation.</p>