NCAR

What NCAR does

NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) is a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and managed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, NCAR operates with approximately 750 staff across the Mesa Laboratory, the High Altitude Observatory, the Research Applications Laboratory, and the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center in Cheyenne. Its mission is to advance Earth system science research and provide modeling, observational, and computational tools to the university atmospheric research community, federal operational agencies (NOAA, NASA, DOE), and the broader scientific enterprise.

NCAR's core product portfolio consists of community Earth system and weather models — CESM (Community Earth System Model), WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting), MPAS (Model for Prediction Across Scales), and WACCM (Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model) — distributed as open-source to the global research community. Its observational assets include the NSF/National Science Foundation-funded GV HIAPER research aircraft and a C-130 aircraft, alongside the next-generation APAR (Airborne Phased Array Radar) under development. Computational infrastructure is anchored by the Derecho supercomputer in Wyoming. NCAR has also developed an in-house AI-based Medium-Range Real-Time Convective Hazard Forecasting system that uses AI model emulators to predict severe weather hazards up to a week in advance in minutes rather than hours, currently under evaluation at NOAA's Hazardous Weather Testbed. Outputs and access to models and datasets are provided at no cost to the research community and federal partners.

NCAR's business model is non-commercial and government-dependent: it does not sell products or generate revenue in the conventional sense. Operations are sustained primarily through NSF core appropriations and project grants (including a $91.8 million APAR award in 2023, subsequently suspended in April 2025), supplemented by interagency reimbursable work with NOAA, NASA, and DOE. As of 2025-2026, the organization faces material existential uncertainty: the Trump administration announced plans to shut down NCAR in December 2025, the NSF suspended support for the APAR project in April 2025, and NSF announced plans in March 2026 to restructure or break up the organization, with proposals from the University of Oklahoma and NOAA contractor Lynker to absorb portions of the operation.

Name

NCAR

Legal name

National Center for Atmospheric Research

Website

https://ncar.ucar.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

NCAR is a federally funded Earth system science center in Boulder, CO, sponsored by NSF and managed by UCAR, providing climate models, supercomputing, and AI-based weather forecasting to universities and federal agencies. It faces material restructuring risk as of 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Atmospheric and Earth System Research

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

GHG Monitoring Plans & Sampling Design (Field Protocols, QA/QC) (EUABACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Remote Sensing & Geospatial MRV (Satellite, Aerial, LiDAR, SAR) (EUABACAF), Emissions Factors, LCA & Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) Platforms (EUABAEAD)

Keywords

• Atmospheric research
• Climate modeling
• Weather forecasting
• Earth system science
• High-performance computing

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulder

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. NSF Core Funding: Primary funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation as a major facility sponsored by NSF and managed by UCAR. This covers operational costs, research programs, and facility maintenance.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NCAR provides the atmospheric and Earth system science research community with cutting-edge climate and weather models (CESM, WRF, MPAS, WACCM), observational instruments and field campaign platforms, high-performance supercomputing resources (Derecho), data services, and AI-based forecasting tools. It is a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation and managed by UCAR, delivering research infrastructure, scientific expertise, and training to universities, government agencies, and the broader scientific community.

Product overview

NSF NCAR is a research institution sponsored by the National Science Foundation that provides the research community with cutting-edge modeling, observational tools, and computing resources. NCAR offers a portfolio of climate and weather models including the Community Earth System Model (CESM), Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF), Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS), and Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM). Additionally, NCAR has developed AI-powered forecasting systems including the Medium-Range Real-Time Convective Hazard Forecasting system for severe weather prediction. NCAR also develops specialized radar systems like APAR for airborne storm observation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• UCAR: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research - the managing organization of NCAR

Products and services

• Community Earth System Model (CESM)
• Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF)
• Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS)
• Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM)
• AI-based Medium-Range Real-Time Convective Hazard Forecasting System
• APAR (Advanced Airborne Radar) Next-generation airborne radar system designed to improve storm observation capabilities for hurricane and severe weather prediction, intended for use on NOAA hurricane-hunter aircraft.

Quantifiable outcome

• Predicts severe weather hazards (tornadoes, large hail, damaging winds) up to a week in advance
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2023NOAA uses NCAR-developed technologies including hurricane-hunter aircraft radar. NOAA's Hazardous Weather Testbed evaluates NCAR's AI-based forecasting system. Collaboration on weather prediction and climate research.
• New Mexico TechmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 August 2019NCAR collaborates with New Mexico Tech on the OTREC field campaign investigating tropical convection. Principal investigators Željka Fuchs and David J. Raymond lead the project based at New Mexico Tech.
• University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUCAR manages NCAR on behalf of NSF. UCAR provides administrative infrastructure, education programs (COMET, SOARS), and manages member institutions for collaborative research.
• U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDOE co-funded the CACTI (Clouds, Aerosols, and Complex Terrain Interactions) project alongside NCAR's RELÁMPAGO campaign, studying orographic clouds and model representation.
• Member UniversitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCAR serves and collaborates with a consortium of universities through UCAR membership. Universities access NCAR resources and contribute to collaborative research programs.
• NASAmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNASA collaborates on field campaigns including OTREC and supports research through various programs. NASA EPO provided education/outreach support for ACES 2024 solar eclipse mission.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL): Princeton-based federal climate modeling lab developing coupled atmospheric-ocean models for weather and climate prediction. Most direct US peer to NCAR with similar scientific mandate, supercomputing infrastructure, and government funding model.
• NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS): NASA's premier climate research center developing global climate models and conducting Earth system science research. Directly comparable to NCAR in mission, model development (GISS ModelE), and federal sponsorship structure.
• European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF): Intergovernmental organization producing global numerical weather predictions and climate monitoring. Operates major supercomputing facility, develops leading atmospheric models (IFS), and serves as international counterpart to NCAR's research and forecasting mission.
• UK Met Office: UK's national meteorological service operating the Hadley Centre for climate research. Comparable in combining operational weather forecasting with climate modeling, supercomputing infrastructure, and government-funded research mandate.
• Max Planck Institute for Meteorology: Leading German climate research institute developing Earth system models (MPI-ESM) and conducting atmospheric, ocean, and biosphere research. Directly comparable research mission, model development, and academic consortium structure to NCAR.

Emerging players

• Google DeepMind (GraphCast): Developed GraphCast, an AI-based weather prediction model that matches or exceeds traditional numerical weather prediction on standard benchmarks. Represents the leading commercial AI weather entrant challenging traditional atmospheric science institutions.
• NVIDIA (Earth-2 / FourCastNet): Developed FourCastNet AI weather model and the Earth-2 digital twin platform for climate and weather simulation. Emerging commercial competitor in AI-driven atmospheric modeling that competes with traditional supercomputer-based approaches.

Broad incumbents

• National Weather Service (NOAA/NWS): US operational weather forecasting agency that consumes NCAR research outputs and AI forecasting systems. Acts as primary deployment customer for NCAR-developed weather prediction capabilities within federal government.

Regional players

• Environment and Climate Change Canada: Canadian government department responsible for meteorological service and climate science. Comparable federal atmospheric science infrastructure operating primarily in Canada with similar research-to-operations pipeline.

Others

• Scripps Institution of Oceanography: UC San Diego's premier oceanographic and atmospheric research institution. Thematically adjacent to NCAR through Earth system science, climate research, and atmospheric chemistry observations, though focused more on ocean and marine systems.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AtmosNews
• Facebookfacebook.com/AtmosNews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-center-for-atmospheric-research

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about NCAR