Petrobras decided to create its first corporate-startup co-creation program, called Startups Module, to reduce the barriers to entry in the Oil & Gas and Energy (O&GE) sector. It was launched in 2019 together with the open innovation program called Petrobras Connections for Innovation. This paper focuses on describing the Startups Module’s business model, including the method for innovation challenges selection, the role of the stakeholders, the process of technical and business mentoring, the rules of intellectual property, as well as the main impacts on the innovation ecosystem. The program had a wide repercussion in the sector by stimulating partnerships between corporations, startups, and research centres, and contributing to the improvement of the regulatory framework for RD&I in the Brazilian O&GE sector. As part of our findings, we introduced a new framework for co-creation with startups called “Deep Tech Startup Factory” and listed the premises for its application.