CIQ

What CIQ does

CIQ (legally Ctrl IQ, Inc.) is a Reno, Nevada-based software infrastructure company founded in April 2020 by Gregory Kurtzer, co-creator of CentOS and creator of Singularity, that delivers an end-to-end Linux, HPC orchestration, and IT automation stack built around Rocky Linux. The portfolio spans a free GPU-ready Linux tier (RLC+), commercial Enterprise Linux (RLC Pro, RLC Pro Hardened, RLC Pro AI) running on the proprietary CIQ Linux Kernel (CLK), HPC/AI orchestration (Fuzzball), stateless bare-metal cluster provisioning (Warewulf Pro), HPC containers (Apptainer), and enterprise IT automation (Ascender Pro), plus a compatibility catalog (C3), a self-service portal, and packaged solutions such as the ARCA bundle for R1 universities. CIQ is the founding commercial sponsor of Rocky Linux, a co-founder of OpenELA with Oracle and SUSE, and the first Linux distributor authorized to ship the complete NVIDIA AI software stack, with a parallel AMD Instinct/ROCm co-development track.

The company makes money primarily through recurring subscriptions: site-license RLC Pro subscriptions (10-year lifecycle, FIPS 140-3 validated on LTS minor releases, IP indemnification), per-node pricing on RLC Pro AI, node- or site-priced subscriptions for Fuzzball, Warewulf Pro, Ascender Pro, Apptainer, and CIQ Bridge, plus professional services for support, training, and consulting. Revenue is supplemented by indirect channel sales through an extensive global reseller and distribution network (Dell, HPE, TD Synnex, Computacenter, WWT, Penguin Solutions, federal-focused DLT and CTG Federal) and cloud marketplace listings on Azure, Google Cloud, and AWS. CIQ serves four primary verticals (Federal and Defense, Life Sciences, Higher Education/R1 universities, and Financial Services) plus secondary segments in sovereign AI and VC-backed AI startups via a discounted CIQ Startup Program, addressing needs for FIPS-validated cryptography, post-quantum readiness, GPU-optimized Linux, multi-cloud AI/HPC orchestration, and sovereign AI deployment on customer-controlled infrastructure.

Name

CIQ

Legal name

Ctrl IQ, Inc.

Website

https://ciq.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

CIQ delivers enterprise-grade Linux, HPC/AI orchestration, and IT automation built on Rocky Linux. It serves federal, life sciences, higher education, and financial services organizations needing FIPS-validated, GPU-optimized, sovereign AI infrastructure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Enterprise Linux and HPC Infrastructure Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (51321), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Managed Application Platforms (App PaaS & Runtime Services) (HDABAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Model Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) Platforms (HDAAAKAA), AI/HPC Converged Systems (Hybrid Training/Simulation) (HDACAOAD)

Keywords

• Enterprise linux
• Hpc orchestration
• Ai infrastructure
• Linux kernel
• Infrastructure automation

Headquarters

HQ city

Reno

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. RLC Pro Enterprise Linux Subscriptions: Site-license subscriptions for RLC Pro, RLC Pro Hardened, and RLC Pro AI, including 10-year support lifecycle, FIPS 140-3 validated cryptography, LTS on pinned minor versions, direct bug fixes, indemnification, and Standard/Premium support SLAs. Recurring annual or multi-year subscription revenue.
2. RLC Pro AI Per-Node Pricing: RLC Pro AI is sold on per-node pricing for GPU-optimized Enterprise Linux with pre-validated NVIDIA/AMD GPU stack. Usage-based unit pricing tied to cluster size.
3. Freemium / Free Tier (RLC+): RLC+ NVIDIA and RLC+ AMD are offered free via portal registration as a free extended tier. RLC Pro AI, RLC Pro, and RLC Pro Hardened serve as paid upgrades that add LTS, FIPS 140-3, SLAs, and indemnification. Land-and-expand from free community/RLC+ to paid enterprise tiers.
4. Fuzzball / Warewulf Pro / Ascender Pro / Apptainer / CIQ Bridge Subscriptions: Recurring subscriptions for HPC orchestration (Fuzzball), cluster provisioning (Warewulf Pro), IT automation (Ascender Pro), HPC containers (Apptainer support), and compatibility layer (CIQ Bridge). Sold per node/site, with pricing tied to Units per the Master Subscription Agreement.
5. Professional Services and Support: Enterprise support with direct access to engineers, custom training (Linux, IT automation, HPC, AI infrastructure), and consulting services covering architecture, deployment, optimization, and compliance. Includes Standard and Premium support tiers with defined SLAs.
6. Reseller / Channel Sales: Indirect sales through authorized resellers and distributors (Dell, HPE, TD Synnex, Computacenter, WWT, Alt Systems, Penguin Solutions, etc.) who resell CIQ Software under Order Forms referencing the Master Subscription Agreement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion5 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CIQ builds and sells a Rocky Linux-based enterprise infrastructure software stack consisting of commercial Enterprise Linux subscriptions (RLC Pro, RLC Pro Hardened, RLC Pro AI), HPC and AI workload orchestration (Fuzzball), bare-metal cluster provisioning (Warewulf Pro), HPC container runtime (Apptainer), and IT automation (Ascender Pro). Above this OS layer, CIQ also provides the CIQ Linux Kernel (CLK), CIQ Bridge compatibility layer, the C3 compatibility catalog, and the ARCA packaged solution for academic HPC. The stack targets enterprises, federal agencies, defense contractors, national laboratories, R1 universities, financial services firms, and VC-backed AI startups that require sovereign, GPU-optimized, FIPS-validated infrastructure.

Product overview

CIQ delivers a unified platform-plus-modules architecture built on a single Rocky Linux-based OS layer (RLC+ free tier, RLC Pro enterprise Linux, RLC Pro Hardened for security-first environments, RLC Pro AI for GPU-accelerated AI workloads) backed by the proprietary CIQ Linux Kernel (CLK) and the CIQ Bridge compatibility layer for CentOS migration. Above the OS layer sits CIQ's HPC-proven orchestration stack: Fuzzball for AI and HPC workload orchestration across on-premises and multi-cloud, Warewulf Pro for stateless bare-metal cluster provisioning, Apptainer (the Linux Foundation HPC container platform) for rootless container runtimes, and Ascender Pro (built on AWX/Ansible) for enterprise IT automation with audit trails and CVE visibility. Cross-cutting platform tools include the C3 compatibility catalog, the CIQ self-service portal, and the ARCA packaged solution for academic HPC. All products are engineered by the same team that builds and maintains the upstream Rocky Linux open-source project, and the platform is positioned to enable sovereign AI infrastructure (private LLM inference, RAG, and chat on customer-owned infrastructure).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rocky Linux: Open-source enterprise Linux distribution, 100% binary compatible with RHEL, of which CIQ is the founding commercial sponsor. Rocky Linux powers 2.75 million actively deployed instances.
• RLC+ (Rocky Linux from CIQ Plus)
• RLC Pro
• RLC Pro Hardened
• RLC Pro AI
• Fuzzball
• Warewulf Pro
• Ascender Pro
• Apptainer
• CIQ Bridge
• CLK (CIQ Linux Kernel)
• C3 (CIQ Compatibility Catalog)
• ARCA (Academic Research Computing Advantage)
• CIQ Portal

Products and services

• Rocky Linux (Community) A free, open-source enterprise Linux distribution 100% binary compatible with RHEL, governed by the Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation. CIQ is the founding commercial sponsor and provides commercial support and extensions atop the community project.
• RLC+

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% of Fortune 100 companies use CIQ supported technologies
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles8 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration19 records

AI capability7 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

47 partnerships are on record, tiered core security technology partner, flagship - co-development partner, supporting customer-deployment partner, flagship - licensing and technology partner, flagship - investor and cloud/technology partner, core cloud partner, supporting cloud partner, supporting technology partner, flagship reseller/distributor, major distributor, major reseller, federal-focused reseller, federal-focused partner, global software reseller, supporting reseller, international reseller, flagship - foundational open source stewardship and flagship - industry coalition.

• Binarlycore security technology partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2026CIQ and Binarly announced a strategic partnership in May 2026 to deliver binary-level analysis and firmware vulnerability detection into Enterprise Linux environments. The combined offering integrates CIQ's hardened Enterprise Linux platform with Binarly's Transparency Platform to provide supply chain documentation, SBOM generation, and full dependency mapping for security teams and auditors. Integration milestones planned across the CIQ product portfolio.
• AMDflagship - co-development partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 March 2026CIQ and AMD announced a collaboration in March 2026 to deliver optimized enterprise infrastructure solutions for AI and HPC workloads using AMD Instinct GPUs and the AMD ROCm software platform. The partnership begins with AMD-optimized Rocky Linux builds featuring validated AMD drivers and ROCm support, with plans to integrate AMD optimizations throughout CIQ's infrastructure stack.
• LG Uplussupporting customer-deployment partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 March 2026CIQ supports LG Uplus, a major Korean telecommunications operator, with Rocky Linux infrastructure (per CIQ press release dated March 17, 2026).
• NVIDIAflagship - licensing and technology partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 November 2025NVIDIA licensed Rocky Linux from CIQ (RLC) and RLC-AI as the first Linux distribution authorized to deliver the complete NVIDIA AI software stack including CUDA Toolkit and DOCA OFED out-of-box. CIQ showcased expanded collaboration with NVIDIA at SC25 in November 2025, integrating NVIDIA's AI and networking software across RLC Pro AI and Fuzzball.
• Google LLCflagship - investor and cloud/technology partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2022Google participated as an investor in CIQ's Series A funding and collaborates with CIQ to support Rocky Linux on Google Cloud. CIQ is a Google Cloud technology partner; Google Cloud is a primary cloud distribution and orchestration target for Fuzzball and RLC+ products.
• Microsoft Azurecore cloud partnerTechnology or IntegrationMicrosoft Azure is a primary cloud partner. Fuzzball 4.0 added native Azure deployment support, joining AWS, GCP, and OCI as first-class deployment targets. RLC+ is available on Azure Marketplace.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)core cloud partnerTechnology or IntegrationAWS is a primary cloud partner. Fuzzball deploys natively on AWS as a first-class target alongside GCP, OCI, Azure, and CoreWeave. Rocky Linux distribution images are available on AWS.
• Google Cloud Platform (GCP)core cloud partnerTechnology or IntegrationGoogle Cloud is a primary cloud partner; CIQ supports Rocky Linux on Google Cloud and RLC+ is available on Google Cloud Marketplace. GCP is a first-class Fuzzball deployment target.
• Oracle Cloud (OCI)core cloud partnerTechnology or IntegrationOracle Cloud is a primary cloud partner; OCI is supported as a first-class Fuzzball deployment target alongside AWS, GCP, Azure, and CoreWeave.
• CoreWeavecore cloud partnerTechnology or IntegrationCoreWeave is supported as a first-class Fuzzball deployment target alongside AWS, GCP, OCI, and Azure, enabling automatic job routing based on cost, performance, and data locality across multi-cloud environments.
• Zenlayersupporting cloud partnerTechnology or IntegrationZenlayer is listed as a CIQ cloud partner providing global networking and infrastructure services aligned with the CIQ partner ecosystem.
• Altairsupporting technology partnerTechnology or IntegrationAltair is an ecosystem and technology partner providing complementary HPC and engineering software integrated with the CIQ stack.
• Cornelis Networkssupporting technology partnerTechnology or IntegrationCornelis Networks is an ecosystem partner providing HPC networking solutions integrated with CIQ's HPC and AI stack.
• OpenDrivessupporting technology partnerTechnology or IntegrationOpenDrives is an ecosystem partner providing storage solutions integrated with Fuzzball and the CIQ HPC stack.
• Graid Technologysupporting technology partnerTechnology or IntegrationGraid is an ecosystem partner providing GPU/NVMe storage acceleration integrated with the CIQ stack.
• Atemposupporting technology partnerTechnology or IntegrationAtempo is an ecosystem partner providing data protection and storage solutions integrated with CIQ's HPC/AI stack.
• Zmandasupporting technology partnerTechnology or IntegrationZmanda is an ecosystem partner providing backup and disaster recovery integrated with CIQ's HPC stack.
• Aroneticssupporting technology partnerTechnology or IntegrationAronetics is an ecosystem partner providing Thor high-performance storage solutions integrated with CIQ's HPC stack.
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)flagship reseller/distributorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHPE is a major CIQ reseller and distribution partner, providing CIQ software infrastructure (Rocky Linux, RLC Pro, Fuzzball, Warewulf Pro) as part of HPE's HPC, AI, and enterprise server solutions.
• Dell Technologiesflagship reseller/distributorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDell is a major CIQ reseller and distribution partner, bundling CIQ software infrastructure with Dell's server, HPC, and AI hardware solutions.
• TD Synnexmajor distributorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTD Synnex is a global IT distributor carrying CIQ products and solutions for resale to enterprise and mid-market customers.
• Computacentermajor resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorComputacenter is a major global reseller of CIQ products, deploying Rocky Linux and CIQ infrastructure for enterprise customers.
• World Wide Technology (WWT)major resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWWT is a major global reseller and systems integrator deploying CIQ infrastructure for large enterprise customers.
• Penguin Solutionsmajor resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPenguin Solutions is a CIQ reseller and integration partner delivering HPC and AI infrastructure solutions built on CIQ software.
• DLT Solutionsfederal-focused resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDLT is a federal-focused government IT reseller carrying CIQ products for sale to U.S. federal agencies and defense contractors.
• CTG Federalfederal-focused resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCTG Federal is a federal-focused government IT reseller and integrator carrying CIQ products for U.S. federal, defense, and intelligence customers.
• Defense Unicornsfederal-focused partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDefense Unicorns is a federal-focused technology partner working with CIQ to deliver Rocky Linux and CIQ infrastructure to defense and national security customers.
• SoftwareOneglobal software resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSoftwareOne is a global software and cloud reseller carrying CIQ subscriptions for enterprise customers.
• Alt Systemssupporting resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlt Systems is an HPC-focused reseller and integrator carrying CIQ infrastructure solutions.
• ASA Computerssupporting resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorASA Computers is an HPC systems reseller and integrator carrying CIQ infrastructure products.
• Cambridge Computersupporting resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCambridge Computer is an HPC solutions reseller carrying CIQ infrastructure products.
• CounterTradesupporting resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCounterTrade is an HPC and enterprise IT reseller carrying CIQ infrastructure products.
• Evoteksupporting resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEvotek is an IT solutions reseller carrying CIQ infrastructure products.
• Mobile Integration Workgroup (MIW)supporting resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMIW is an IT reseller carrying CIQ infrastructure products for federal and commercial customers.
• Nor-Techsupporting resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNor-Tech is an HPC cluster reseller and integrator carrying CIQ infrastructure products.
• Racklivesupporting resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRacklive is an HPC and IT infrastructure reseller carrying CIQ products.
• Redaptsupporting resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRedapt is an IT solutions reseller and integrator carrying CIQ infrastructure products.
• Source Codesupporting resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSource Code is an IT reseller carrying CIQ infrastructure products for enterprise customers.
• WEIsupporting resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWEI is an IT solutions reseller carrying CIQ infrastructure products.
• Puzzle ITCinternational resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPuzzle is a Swiss/European reseller and managed service provider carrying CIQ infrastructure products for European customers.
• Do It Nowinternational resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDo It Now is an international reseller carrying CIQ infrastructure products.
• 24x7 Systemssupporting resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor24x7 Systems is an IT reseller and support provider carrying CIQ infrastructure products.
• ETESinternational resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorETES is a German/European reseller carrying CIQ infrastructure products.
• OSSLABinternational resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOSSLAB is a Korean reseller carrying CIQ infrastructure products in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Applied Datasystemssupporting resellerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorApplied Datasystems is an IT reseller carrying CIQ infrastructure products.
• Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation (RESF)flagship - foundational open source stewardshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIQ founded and supports the Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation (RESF), which independently governs the Rocky Linux project. The RESF operates with a community-based board where no single company, including CIQ, can occupy more than one-third of the board. CIQ CEO Gregory Kurtzer sits on the board.
• Open Enterprise Linux Association (OpenELA)flagship - industry coalitionStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIQ co-founded OpenELA alongside Oracle and SUSE in 2023 to ensure that Enterprise Linux source code remains publicly available, following Red Hat's further restrictions on RHEL source code access.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Broad incumbents

• Google Cloud: Google Cloud is both a CIQ Series A investor and primary cloud partner (Rocky Linux on GCP, RLC+ on Google Cloud Marketplace). GCP also offers its own HPC/AI tooling (Cloud Batch, AI Platform) competing with Fuzzball's orchestration layer.
• Microsoft Azure: Microsoft Azure is a CIQ primary cloud partner (Fuzzball deployment target, RLC+ on Azure Marketplace). Azure also competes via Azure CycleCloud for HPC orchestration and Azure ML for AI workloads, making the relationship both cooperative and competitive.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS): AWS is both a CIQ cloud partner (Fuzzball first-class target, Rocky Linux AMI distribution) and a competitor via Amazon Linux. The June 30, 2026 Amazon Linux 2 end-of-life creates inbound demand for CIQ, but AWS also offers AWS ParallelCluster and optimized AMIs as alternatives.

Emerging players

• Spectro Cloud: Spectro Cloud provides Kubernetes management (Palette) targeting AI/ML and edge workloads, overlapping with Fuzzball's orchestration positioning. Both serve enterprise customers running containerized workloads across on-premises and multi-cloud environments.
• CoreWeave: CoreWeave is a GPU-cloud provider and CIQ cloud partner (Fuzzball first-class deployment target). CoreWeave also offers its own AI infrastructure tooling, making it both a distribution channel for CIQ orchestration software and a competitor for AI infrastructure mindshare.
• Chainguard: Chainguard provides hardened, minimal container images and a hardened Linux distribution (Wolfi) with security-by-default principles similar to CIQ's RLC Pro Hardened. Both target federal, financial services, and security-conscious enterprise customers with zero-CVE and supply-chain-integrity messaging.

Direct peers

• SUSE: SUSE is another major Enterprise Linux vendor and a co-founder of OpenELA alongside CIQ. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) competes with RLC Pro on RHEL compatibility, FIPS/certified environments, and HPC deployments; both target regulated European and global enterprise workloads.
• Red Hat (IBM): Red Hat Enterprise Linux is the dominant Enterprise Linux CIQ directly displaces. CIQ's RLC Pro competes head-to-head with RHEL on binary compatibility, FIPS validation, and support tiers; Red Hat's CentOS-to-Stream pivot created CIQ's founding opportunity. Both target Fortune 1000, federal, and HPC customers with subscription-based Linux.
• Canonical (Ubuntu): Canonical's Ubuntu is the most widely deployed Linux for AI/ML workloads (NVIDIA's reference platform) and competes directly with RLC Pro AI for GPU-optimized AI infrastructure. Both target AI startups, hyperscaler GPU clusters, and enterprise AI deployments with subscription support.
• Oracle Linux: Oracle Linux is a RHEL-compatible Enterprise Linux and the third co-founder of OpenELA alongside CIQ. Oracle competes with CIQ on RHEL binary compatibility, enterprise support, and cloud-native workloads (especially on OCI, where CIQ also partners).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ctrliq

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CIQ