Duke University

What Duke University does

Duke University is a private, non-profit research university founded in 1838 and headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, with approximately 8,000 undergraduate and 8,000 graduate students served by 10,000+ employees across Duke University and Duke Health System. It operates ten schools and colleges — Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, Pratt School of Engineering, Fuqua School of Business, School of Law, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, Divinity School, Nicholas School of the Environment, Sanford School of Public Policy, and The Graduate School — along with international affiliates Duke-NUS Medical School (Singapore, 2005) and Duke Kunshan University (China, 2007), and a Duke University Marine Lab in Beaufort, NC.

Duke's revenue mechanics are diversified across five streams: tuition and fees (undergraduate, graduate, professional, executive, and online), federal and private research grants (NSF, NIH, ARPA-H), healthcare services through Duke Health System, media rights and streaming (including a multi-year Amazon Prime Video partnership for basketball), and donations/endowment income (approximately $10.7 billion endowment). Pricing includes full tuition grants for NC/SC residents with family incomes under $150,000, need-based and merit scholarships, and Yellow Ribbon Program awards ranging from $5,000 (undergraduate) to $23,800 (graduate doctoral).

The institution pursues advanced research across quantum computing (collaboration with IonQ achieving 17% bounded fidelity in a three-node trapped-ion GHZ state), robotics (Argus 20-legged omnidirectional robot with 0.91 dynamic isotropy), clinical AI (multi-institutional study finding 43% of FDA-authorized AI clinical devices lack public validation data), gene therapy, sonogenetics (ARPA-H award up to $41.3M), impact-resistant polymers, and atmospheric microplastics analysis. Strategic priorities are evidenced by the Amazon Prime Video flagship media deal, retention of head basketball coach Jon Scheyer (who declined the Dallas Mavericks), extension of football coach Manny Diaz through 2032, and a leadership team including Provost Alec Gallimore and Athletic Director Nina King.

Name

Duke University

Legal name

Duke University

Website

https://duke.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1838

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Duke University is a private research university in Durham, NC, operating ten schools and colleges with ~16,000 students, an integrated Duke Health System, and global affiliates in Singapore and China. It generates revenue across tuition, federal research grants, healthcare services, media rights, and a ~$10.7B endowment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Comprehensive Doctoral Research Universities (Multi-Disciplinary) (EDAHABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

STEM-Focused Research Universities (Engineering & Applied Sciences) (EDAHABAB), Business & Management Research Universities (EDAHABAE), Law & Legal Studies Research Universities (EDAHABAF)

Keywords

• Higher education services
• Medical research programs
• Graduate professional schools
• Healthcare services
• Executive education

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Duke generates revenue from undergraduate, graduate, professional, and executive education tuition across its schools including Trinity College, Fuqua School of Business, Law School, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, Pratt School of Engineering, Divinity School, Sanford School of Public Policy, and Nicholas School of the Environment.
2. Research Grants and Funding: Duke receives federal research funding from agencies including NSF, NIH, ARPA-H for various research programs in medicine, science, and engineering. Funding has been subject to administrative scrutiny and delays.
3. Healthcare Services: Duke Health System provides medical care, clinical trials, and healthcare services generating significant revenue.
4. Media Rights and Streaming: Amazon Prime Video multi-year partnership for streaming basketball games, providing new revenue streams including NIL opportunities for student-athletes.
5. Donations and Endowments: Duke receives charitable contributions from alumni, foundations, and donors. The Duke Endowment helps gifted students from the Carolinas pursue education regardless of income.
6. VA Education Benefits: Duke participates in VA education benefit programs including Yellow Ribbon Program, certifying enrollment for veterans using GI Bill benefits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Duke University is a private research university providing undergraduate, graduate, professional, and executive education across schools including Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, Pratt School of Engineering, Fuqua School of Business, School of Law, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, Nicholas School of the Environment, Sanford School of Public Policy, and Divinity School. The university also operates Duke Health for clinical care and research, and conducts sponsored research funded by federal agencies including NSF, NIH, and ARPA-H. International programs are delivered through Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore and Duke Kunshan University in China.

Product overview

Duke University is an educational institution offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs across multiple schools and colleges, including Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, Pratt School of Engineering, Fuqua School of Business, School of Law, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, Nicholas School of the Environment, and Sanford School of Public Policy. The university conducts research across various disciplines and provides healthcare services through Duke Health. The institution does not offer commercial software products or technology platforms with product integration capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• ACC Tournament Champions 2023, 2025, 2026
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• UNC, Oxford, Columbia, University of MiamicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 June 2026Multi-institutional study from UNC, Duke, Oxford, Columbia, and University of Miami found that 43% of 521 FDA-authorized AI-driven clinical devices had no publicly available clinical validation data. The institutions are building a research network to provide independent evaluation infrastructure for clinical AI.
• IonQcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 June 2026Duke University researchers collaborating with IonQ achieved approximately 17% bounded fidelity in remotely entangling qubits across a three-node quantum network, demonstrating the first fully-distributed GHZ state using individually controlled atomic qubits. This advancement demonstrates the feasibility of modular quantum computers and moves the field closer to building practical large-scale quantum networks.
• Amazon Prime VideoflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 30 April 2026Multi-year partnership for Amazon Prime Video to exclusively stream three neutral-site Duke men's basketball games per season. This marks Amazon's first college sports media rights acquisition and includes extensive NIL opportunities for Duke athletes as part of a broader retail partnership.
• Future Universities AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDuke University incubated the Future Universities Alliance which selected Vermont State Colleges for its Innovation Sandbox program. The program brings together 49 higher education institutions from 23 countries to work on challenges related to institutional design, curriculum, credentials, and workforce alignment.
• Dallas MavericksminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Dallas Mavericks were interested in Duke head coach Jon Scheyer as their top coaching candidate, making multiple attempts to persuade him to leave college for the NBA. Scheyer ultimately chose to remain at Duke.
• Moffitt Cancer Center, Roswell Park Cancer Center, University of Chicago, Cleveland CliniccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDuke University collaborates with leading cancer research institutions including Moffitt Cancer Center, Roswell Park Cancer Center, University of Chicago, and Cleveland Clinic on Anixa Biosciences' clinical-stage immunotherapy programs including ovarian cancer CAR-T therapy and breast cancer vaccine.
• Fudan UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDuke and Fudan University researchers published a study in Nature Climate Change revealing that atmospheric microplastics contribute to global warming at a level equal to 16% of black carbon, with forcing reaching 1.34 W/m2 in hotspots like the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.
• Salk Institute, Scripps Research, MIT, UC San Diego, California Medical Innovations Institute, SonoNeucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDuke is part of a multi-institution collaboration led by Salk Institute awarded up to $41.3 million from ARPA-H to advance sonogenetics, a noninvasive therapeutic approach using low-intensity ultrasound to control cellular activity for conditions like peripheral neuropathy.
• MIT, Purdue University, Northwestern UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDuke collaborated with MIT, Purdue, and Northwestern on research developing impact-resistant plastics using mechanophores embedded in polymers. The research demonstrated substantial improvements in ballistic impact resistance using laser-induced microprojectile testing.
• ACC, SEC, ESPNflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerDuke participates in inter-conference challenges including ACC/SEC Challenge matchups. Duke's Amazon Prime Video deal required approval from both the ACC and ESPN, which controls ACC media rights through the league's Grant of Rights agreement.

Scale indicators7 records

Direct peers

• Vanderbilt University: Private research university and fellow ACC member with comparable comprehensive doctoral programs and similar mid-sized scale. Closely comparable as a Southern private research peer with strong athletics.
• Stanford University: Top-tier private research university with comprehensive doctoral programs across engineering, business, law, and medicine. Closely comparable to Duke in selectivity, endowment scale, research output, and athletic prominence.
• Harvard University: The benchmark private research university with multi-disciplinary doctoral programs and the world's largest academic endowment. Comparable to Duke across research output, brand prestige, and professional schools.
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Elite private research university with world-leading STEM and applied sciences programs. Directly comparable to Duke on research intensity, federal funding dependence, and selectivity.
• Princeton University: Ivy League private research university with comprehensive graduate programs. Comparable to Duke on selectivity, endowment, and brand-driven admissions economics.
• Yale University: Ivy League private research university with strong professional schools in law, business, and medicine. Directly comparable to Duke's structure across schools and overall prestige tier.
• Columbia University: Comprehensive private research university in an urban setting with professional schools in business, law, and medicine. Duke collaborated with Columbia on clinical AI validation research, underscoring peer positioning.
• University of Pennsylvania: Ivy League private research university with top-ranked business (Wharton) and medical schools. Directly comparable to Duke on integrated professional-school model and tuition-driven revenue.
• University of Chicago: Elite private research university with renowned economics and public policy programs. Collaborates with Duke on Anixa Biosciences cancer immunotherapy research, reflecting shared research intensity.
• Northwestern University: Private research university with strong professional schools in law, business (Kellogg), and medicine. Collaborated with Duke on mechanophore polymer research, confirming peer status.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DukeU
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@dukeuniversity
• Facebookfacebook.com/DukeUniv
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/duke-university
• Instagraminstagram.com/dukeuniversity
• TikToktiktok.com/@dukeu?lang=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds8 records

Investors7 records

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M&A

Investments23 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Duke University