Auburn University
Auburn University is a public land-grant research university founded in 1856, offering undergraduate and graduate programs across 12+ colleges to on-campus and online students, while generating significant revenue from federal research grants (DHS, NASA, USDA, FMCSA), tuition, and athletic event hosting at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
- Company typePublic
- Founded1856
- HeadquartersAuburn University, United States
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Auburn University does
Auburn University is a public, land-grant research university founded in 1856 and headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, with a regional satellite campus in Birmingham (opened 2024–2026 in the historic Hood-McPherson Building) and a wholly owned subsidiary, Auburn University at Montgomery. The institution delivers undergraduate and graduate education across 12+ colleges spanning agriculture, architecture/design/construction, business, education, engineering, human sciences, liberal arts, nursing, pharmacy, sciences/mathematics, and veterinary medicine, plus an Honors College and Graduate School. Educational offerings are distributed through traditional on-campus instruction and Auburn Online, which extends globally accessible certificates, graduate degrees, and non-credit courses.
Revenue is generated across multiple streams: tuition and fees (recurring, annually billed), federally funded research contracts and grants (DHS $24M over five years for detection canine sciences, NASA ~$1.5M for lunar/Mars technologies, USDA $2.99M for SNAP Healthy Fluid Milk Incentives, FMCSA $1.9M for RFID smart tire research), and athletic event hosting and sponsorships at the 88,043-seat Jordan-Hare Stadium (e.g., Argentina vs Iceland international friendly with an estimated $10M economic impact under a Unified Events LLC partnership that returns 60% of net event revenue to Auburn). Government research contracts constitute the largest disclosed single funding flows, while tuition/fees and state appropriations anchor recurring operations.
Technology differentiation is concentrated in specific research programs: a 33 GHz conformal phased-array counter-UAS radar with neural-network classification at 86.6% accuracy, RFID-enabled battery-free smart tire sensing via AUTRI, predictive microbial modeling for meat spoilage, voice-controlled autonomous drone navigation for cotton boll estimation, mass spectrometry combined with machine learning for Alzheimer's biomarker discovery, and AI integration across the College of Education supported by the Circuit quadruped robot. The university employs a multi-channel GTM (campus visits via Camp War Eagle, athletic recruiting, international event hosting, and digital outreach) and is positioned as a Top 50 Public University (U.S. News & World Report, 2026) and Top 10% Research Institution.
Auburn University firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Auburn University
- Legal name
- Auburn University
- Website
- https://auburn.edu
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 1856
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- Auburn University is a public land-grant research university founded in 1856, offering undergraduate and graduate programs across 12+ colleges to on-campus and online students, while generating significant revenue from federal research grants (DHS, NASA, USDA, FMCSA), tuition, and athletic event hosting at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Auburn University industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Higher Education
- NAICS
- Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Land-Grant Public Research Universities (EDAHAAAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Public Research Universities with Major Extension & Outreach Missions (EDAHAAAG), Public Research Universities with Comprehensive Graduate & Professional Schools (EDAHAAAF)
Keywords
Where Auburn University is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Auburn University
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Auburn University business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Research Contracts and Grants: Auburn generates significant revenue through government research contracts including a $24 million DHS detection canine program (5-year project), $1.5 million NASA lunar/Mars technology grants, $2.99 million USDA SNAP dairy incentives grant, and $1.9 million FMCSA smart tire technology grant.
- Athletic Events and Sponsorships: Revenue from hosting major events at Jordan-Hare Stadium including international soccer friendlies (Argentina vs Iceland generated estimated $10M economic impact with Auburn receiving 60% of net event revenue under MOU with Unified Events LLC).
- Tuition and Fees: Public university with undergraduate and graduate programs generating revenue through tuition, fees, and related educational services.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Standard tuition and fee structure for public university education |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
Auburn University product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Auburn University is a public land-grant research university that delivers undergraduate and graduate degree programs across 12 academic colleges, both on its main Auburn, Alabama campus and through Auburn Online distance education. Beyond degree-granting instruction, it operates large-scale funded research programs for federal agencies (DHS detection canines, NASA lunar/Mars technology, USDA nutrition incentives, FMCSA smart tire research) and hosts athletic events at the 88,043-seat Jordan-Hare Stadium. The university also runs community extension services through the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
Product overview
Auburn University is a public research institution offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs across 13 colleges, including the Colleges of Agriculture, Architecture/Design/Construction, Business, Education, Engineering, Forestry/Environment, Human Sciences, Liberal Arts, Nursing, Pharmacy, Sciences/Mathematics, and Veterinary Medicine, plus the Honors College and Graduate School. The university's product and service offerings span academic education (on-campus and online degree programs via Auburn Online), professional development and continuing education, research services, and specialized programs including a student-powered security operations center in partnership with TekStream, the College of Education's AI integration initiative featuring robotics and AI coursework, the Hunger Solutions Institute's SNAP nutrition incentive program, and transportation research including smart tire technology. Research infrastructure includes collaborations with USDA, technology partners (AWS, Splunk, Zebra Technologies, Murata), and participation in educational technology standards bodies like 1EdTech.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Undergraduate Degree Programs Four-year bachelor's degree programs across 12 academic colleges including Engineering, Business, Sciences, Liberal Arts, Agriculture, Architecture, Education, and other fields, delivered at the main Auburn campus and the Birmingham satellite location for traditional first-time college students.
- Graduate Degree Programs Master's and doctoral degree programs offered through Auburn's Graduate School, serving students seeking advanced academic credentials, with the College of Education ranked 74th of 270 in U.S. News Best Graduate Schools.
- Auburn Online Programs Distance education delivery of undergraduate certificates, graduate degree programs, and non-credit courses through the Auburn Online platform, enabling working professionals and adult learners globally to earn credentials from Auburn University without on-campus attendance.
- Detection Canine Sciences Research Program Specialized research service for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security developing optimal training and deployment techniques for detection canines nationwide, spanning multiple university colleges to study scientific aspects of canine detection.
- NASA Lunar and Mars Technology Research Funded research program developing technologies for lunar construction, advanced battery systems, and Mars exploration to support NASA's Moon to Mars architecture and Artemis program.
- SNAP Healthy Fluid Milk Incentives (HFMI) Program USDA-funded nutrition incentive program administered through Auburn's Hunger Solutions Institute that encourages SNAP households to purchase fluid milk through coupons and discounts across 169 SNAP-authorized retail stores in nine states, having served over 612,000 unique households.
- AUTRI RFID Smart Tire Technology Research Transportation research service through Auburn's Transportation Research Institute (AUTRI) testing battery-free RFID-enabled smart tire sensors for commercial trucks under parked inspection, fixed reader checkpoint, and continuous on-vehicle monitoring scenarios to address tire-related failures in truck crashes.
- Counter-UAS Phased-Array Radar Research Research capability centered on a 33 GHz hemispherical conformal phased-array radar system employing LCMV digital beamforming and neural-network classification to distinguish UAVs from birds for counter-unmanned aerial systems detection applications.
Quantifiable outcome
- 85% of teachers surveyed believe students spend too much time on screens during class (Auburn-led national study)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Auburn University
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Auburn University technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration7 records
AI capability11 records
Feature4 records
Auburn University partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- USDAcore$2.99 million grant to Auburn's Hunger Solutions Institute to expand SNAP Healthy Fluid Milk Incentives across 169 retail locations in nine states. Program encourages SNAP households to purchase fluid milk through coupons and discounts.
- NASAmajorNASA awarded nearly $1.5 million in grants to 24 projects including Auburn for technologies for lunar and Mars exploration. Auburn is among 21 organizations developing lunar regolith use and advanced battery technologies to support Moon to Mars architecture and Artemis program.
- U.S. Department of Homeland Securitymajor$24 million five-year research contract for detection canine sciences program to improve methods for using detection dogs to find explosives and criminals. Collaboration across multiple university colleges to study various scientific aspects of detection canines.
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrationcore$1.9 million grant to Auburn's Transportation Research Institute (AUTRI) to test RFID-enabled smart tire technology for commercial trucks over two years. Industry partners include Zebra Technologies, Murata, Beontag, Asyn, and Decklam Technologies.
- Department of WarmajorDepartment of War named Auburn University as potential partner institution for military education programs, part of February 27 memo terminating Pentagon-funded programs at Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, Brown, and MIT. Auburn is among 21 'value-aligned' universities identified as replacements.
- USDA-ARS National Soil Dynamics LaboratorycoreCollaborative research initiative with USDA-ARS National Soil Dynamics Laboratory and University of Texas at Tyler's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering to advance drone and AI applications in agriculture.
- Unified Events LLCcorePartnership for hosting international soccer friendly (Argentina vs Iceland) at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn retained 60% of net event revenue under MOU; event generated estimated $10 million economic impact.
- University of Texas at TylerminorPartnership with UT Tyler's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering to develop voice-controlled autonomous drone navigation and 3D cotton boll estimation technology.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Auburn University competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Virginia Tech: Land-grant research university with similar engineering, agriculture, and Extension missions; comparable scale and Carnegie R1 status make it a useful benchmark for Auburn's research trajectory.
- University of Alabama: In-state peer and primary SEC rival; public research university of comparable scale with flagship engineering, business, and honors programs; competes directly with Auburn for Alabama's top in-state students, athletic recruits, and legislative appropriations.
- NC State University: Land-grant research peer with parallel engineering, agriculture, and textiles programs; comparable enrollment scale and similar federal research grant mix (USDA, DOD, DOE).
- Mississippi State University: SEC peer and fellow land-grant institution with comparable agriculture, engineering, and veterinary programs; competes with Auburn for federal Extension funding, research grants, and SEC recruiting talent in the regional Southeast market.
- University of Georgia: SEC peer land-grant university with similar Top 50 public profile, large research portfolio, and signature stadium; directly comparable scale, mission, and SEC athletic competition.
- Texas A&M University: Larger SEC peer land-grant university with parallel engineering, agriculture, and DHS-aligned research programs; sets the upper bound for the land-grant research segment in which Auburn competes.
- Clemson University: Public research university of comparable size and Carnegie classification; competes with Auburn for out-of-state Southeast students, federal research dollars, and athletic brand positioning.
Broad incumbents
- Purdue University: Top-ranked Big Ten land-grant research peer with comparable engineering, agriculture, and aviation programs; represents the upper-quartile outcome Auburn's research trajectory aims toward.
- Penn State University: Iconic land-grant and Big Ten peer with similar World Campus online enrollment, Extension footprint, and NCAA Division I athletic brand; provides a comparable model for land-grant system scale.
- University of Florida: Larger SEC peer public research university ranked Top 5 nationally; sets the benchmark Auburn aspires to for research output, online program scale, and overall brand positioning.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Auburn University social profiles
Digital presenceAuburn University compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Auburn University financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Auburn University leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Auburn University subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Auburn University funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Auburn University M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Auburn University
What does Auburn University do?
Auburn University is a public land-grant research university that delivers undergraduate and graduate degree programs across 12 academic colleges, both on its main Auburn, Alabama campus and through Auburn Online distance education. Beyond degree-granting instruction, it operates large-scale funded research programs for federal agencies (DHS detection canines, NASA lunar/Mars technology, USDA nutrition incentives, FMCSA smart tire research) and hosts athletic events at the 88,043-seat Jordan-Hare Stadium. The university also runs community extension services through the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
Is Auburn University a public or private company?
Auburn University is a public company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Auburn University founded?
Auburn University was founded in 1856. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Auburn University based?
Auburn University is headquartered in Auburn University, United States, in the North America region.
How does Auburn University make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Research Contracts and Grants are the primary driver. The others are athletic Events and Sponsorships and tuition and Fees.
Who are Auburn University's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Virginia Tech, University of Alabama, NC State University, Mississippi State University, University of Georgia, Texas A&M University and Clemson University. Broad incumbents are Purdue University, Penn State University and University of Florida.
Does Auburn University have an API?
No public API is recorded for Auburn University.
What industry is Auburn University in?
Auburn University's product category is Higher Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAHAAAB, Land-Grant Public Research Universities, with a secondary code of EDAHAAAG, Public Research Universities with Major Extension & Outreach Missions. Its NAICS code is 6113 and its SIC code is 8200.