AidData was formed in 2009 as a partnership between Brigham Young University (BYU), the College of William and Mary, and Development Gateway.

The organization was formed through the merger of two prior initiatives: Project-Level Aid (PLAID) and Accessible Information on Development Activities (AiDA).

PLAID, conceived in 2003, was a joint effort between BYU and William and Mary to provide data on foreign aid.

The organization released their searchable data portal of one million past and present development finance activities from over 90 funding agencies.

The database also includes information on the aid projects of some donors that do not report to the OECD, such as Brazil, South Africa, and China.