NCShare
NCShare is a nonprofit statewide cyberinfrastructure consortium providing shared GPU clusters, CPU compute, and high-speed research networking to 20-plus North Carolina colleges and universities via MCNC's NCREN network, funded by NSF grants and offered free to end users.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersDurham, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What NCShare does
NCShare is a nonprofit, statewide research cyberinfrastructure consortium operating exclusively within North Carolina. Founded in 2022 through a partnership of Davidson College, Duke University, North Carolina Central University, and MCNC (the operator of the North Carolina Research and Education Network), the consortium consolidates three core services onto shared infrastructure: a Science DMZ network for high-performance data transfer, Compute as a Service (CaaS) for shared CPU-based research computing, and GPU-as-a-Service / AI-GaaS for AI and ML workloads. The platform is hosted on MCNC's datacenter in Research Triangle Park and accessed by users at 20-plus participating NC colleges and universities via InCommon/COmanage federated identity, with no sales touch required.
Underlying infrastructure includes 8 CPU compute nodes (1,024 AMD EPYC 7543 cores, 4TB RAM), 4 GPU nodes (768 Intel Xeon Platinum 8568Y+ cores, 8TB RAM) housing 32 NVIDIA H200 GPUs (141GB VRAM each), a Slurm workload manager, 10/40 Gbps networking, and supporting tools such as Apptainer containers, Open OnDemand (browser-based Jupyter Lab, RStudio, shell), and the Container Manager for course-based software environments. Pre-built containers cover bioconduct/R/CUDA stacks, FHI-aims, computer vision, and LLM inference via Ollama.
NCShare's business model is grant-funded and free to end users. The consortium's lifetime NSF commitments total roughly $2.59M across three awards (OAC-2201525 for the Science DMZ at $984,868; OAC-2201105 for CaaS at $397,557; and OAC-2430141 for AI-GaaS at $1.19M), with hardware operations funded for approximately two more years from the most recent FAQ date. There are no commercial fees, and any future usage fees remain in planning. Customers are institutions (Duke, Davidson, NCCU, NC A&T, UNC-CH, NC State, plus 15 additional NC colleges and minority-serving institutions) rather than individual payers, and the consortium explicitly prioritizes HBCUs/MSIs and smaller colleges that lack independent HPC resources. Governance is delivered through named Co-PI relationships among senior institutional CIOs and through MCNC as service provider.
NCShare firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NCShare
- Legal name
- NCShare
- Website
- https://ncshare.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- NCShare is a nonprofit statewide cyberinfrastructure consortium providing shared GPU clusters, CPU compute, and high-speed research networking to 20-plus North Carolina colleges and universities via MCNC's NCREN network, funded by NSF grants and offered free to end users.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
NCShare industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Research Computing Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (61171), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- SDN & Controller-Based Management (Campus/DC Fabrics) (HDAFAMAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Private Cloud Networking & SDN/NFV Management (HDABABAK)
Keywords
Where NCShare is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Durham
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
NCShare business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- NSF Grant Funding: NCShare is entirely funded by National Science Foundation (NSF) awards. The initial grants (OAC #2018401, OAC #2201525, OAC #2201105) fund hardware operations for approximately two more years from the FAQ date. An additional award (NSF OAC-2430141) funds the AI-GaaS platform. There is no cost to use NCShare for researchers and educators. Future small usage fees may be introduced but planning is still underway.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Annual | Free access for all qualifying users at participating institutions |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
NCShare product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NCShare is a statewide research cyberinfrastructure consortium operated by MCNC on its North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN). It delivers shared high-performance computing, GPU clusters (32 NVIDIA H200 GPUs), and Science DMZ networking to North Carolina colleges and universities at no cost to qualifying researchers and educators. Access is provided via federated identity (InCommon/COmanage) through self-service web portals including Open OnDemand and Container Manager.
Product overview
NCShare is a statewide collaborative cyberinfrastructure platform that provides shared research networking and computing resources to North Carolina's higher education institutions, particularly minority-serving and smaller colleges. The platform operates as a unified suite of three interconnected core services: the Science DMZ (a purpose-built high-speed network architecture for research data transfer), Compute as a Service (a shared CPU computing environment for academic courses and research), and GPU as a Service / AI-GaaS (a horizontally scalable cluster of 32 NVIDIA H200 GPUs for AI, ML, and large-scale computational workloads). These core offerings are complemented by supporting infrastructure including Container Manager (semester-length web-based software containers for classroom use), Open OnDemand (a web portal for browser-based Jupyter Lab, RStudio, and shell sessions), and the NCShare Cluster Computing environment (8 CPU nodes plus 4 GPU nodes managed by Slurm on Ubuntu). The entire platform is operated as a consortium by MCNC and partner institutions and is funded by NSF grants OAC-2201525, OAC-2201105, and OAC-2430141.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Science DMZ A dedicated portion of campus network infrastructure optimized for high-performance science data movement, enabling fast and unrestricted data transfer between NCShare partner institutions and external research sites. Establishes a Science DMZ for 5-7 institutions so campus researchers can access external sites at speeds typically only available at large research universities.
- Compute as a Service (CaaS) A shared computing environment housed at MCNC's datacenter providing a common software stack and science drivers for faculty and researchers at participating institutions. Supports interactive sessions (MATLAB, RStudio, Jupyter Notebooks) and parallel workflows for large-scale computations, with priority access for Davidson, NCCU, and minority-serving institutions.
- GPU as a Service (GaaS / AI-GaaS) A horizontally scalable shared GPU environment with 32 NVIDIA H200 GPUs (141GB VRAM each) accessible to all participating North Carolina institutions. Provides democratized GPU access for AI research, machine learning, and large-scale computations, with dedicated high-priority gpu-hp partitions for partner institutions and buy-in capacity for additional nodes.
- Container Manager A web-based service providing browser-based access to specialized software packages (such as RStudio and JupyterLab) without installing complex software locally. Container reservations last for a semester and are hosted in MCNC's datacenter, primarily used for standardized classroom computing environments.
- Open OnDemand A web portal providing interactive browser access to Jupyter Lab, RStudio, and Linux desktop sessions without requiring command-line expertise. Allows users to configure and launch container-based sessions with configurable CPU, GPU, and memory resources.
Quantifiable outcome
- 32 NVIDIA H200 GPUs with 141GB VRAM each made available to the NC research community at no cost
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use NCShare
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
NCShare technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability4 records
Feature7 records
NCShare partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.
- North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (NC A&T)majorHBCU joined NCShare in 2025. Kaushik Roy (Professor and Chair, Computer Science) serves as Co-PI for AI-GaaS. Edmundson Effort serves as IT analyst contact. NC A&T contributes to AI/ML research including deepfakes detection and cybersecurity AI. Recently announced bachelor's degree in AI enhances university's AI research leadership.
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH)majorR1 institution joined NCShare in 2025. J. Michael Barker (Vice Chancellor for IT/CIO) serves as Co-PI for AI-GaaS. UNC-CH contributes to HybriD3 Materials Theory Training Workshop alongside Duke and NC State. Access to help.rc.unc.edu and [email protected] support channels.
- MCNCcoreNonprofit network operator that owns and manages NCREN (North Carolina Research and Education Network). MCNC serves as the primary service provider for NCShare, hosting compute clusters and GPU infrastructure at its datacenter on East Cornwallis Road in RTP, NC. Tracy Doaks, President and CEO of MCNC, is Co-Principal Investigator on sDMZ and AI-GaaS grants.
- Duke UniversitycoreLead institutional partner and principal investigator institution. Tracy Futhey (VP for Technology and CIO) serves as PI for sDMZ and AI-GaaS; Charley Kneifel (Senior Technical Director) serves as PI for CaaS and Co-PI for AI-GaaS. Duke provides engagement team, senior technical leadership, and cluster access.
- North Carolina Central University (NCCU)coreHBCU founding partner. Joel Faison (CIO) serves as Co-PI for sDMZ and CaaS; Jon Gant (Interim Associate Vice Chancellor) as Co-PI for sDMZ; Mohammad Ahmed (TUNL Associate Director) as Co-PI for CaaS. NCCU is a priority access institution for shared computing resources and hosts the 2026 Campus Cyberinfrastructure workshop.
- Davidson CollegecoreFounding partner. Kevin Davis (CIO) serves as Co-PI for sDMZ and CaaS. Davidson is a priority access institution for the shared computing environment. Brian Little serves as Davidson's NCShare technical backbone. Davidson students have used NCShare containers in Data Science courses.
- North Carolina State University (NC State)minorEarly adopter of AI-GaaS. Contact: [email protected]. Contributed to HybriD3 Materials Theory Training Workshop alongside Duke and UNC-CH. NC State researchers can access GPU resources through the gpu-hp partition.
- Fayetteville State UniversityminorEarly adopter of AI-GaaS and MSI partner. Contact: [email protected]. Dr. Sambit Bhattacharya's team at Fayetteville State tested and provided feedback on the NCShare computer vision Apptainer container.
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte)minorEarly adopter of AI-GaaS. Contact: Chris Maher ([email protected]). UNC Charlotte researchers have gpu-hp partition access through the charlotte_h200_hp QoS.
- Winston-Salem State UniversityminorMSI partner and early adopter of AI-GaaS. Contact: Matthew Kaczmarski ([email protected]). Winston-Salem State has gpu-hp partition access through the wssu_h200_hp QoS.
- InCommon / Internet2coreInCommon (via Internet2) provides the COmanage Registry identity federation infrastructure that enables NCShare users to authenticate using their home institution credentials without creating separate NCShare accounts.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
NCShare competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Internet2: National nonprofit computer networking consortium for U.S. research and education. Comparable as the umbrella organization that operates InCommon (NCShare's identity layer) and similar R&E networking services nationwide.
- ACCESS (formerly XSEDE): The national NSF-funded cyberinfrastructure coordination ecosystem that allocates HPC and GPU resources across U.S. researchers. Directly comparable as a federally funded shared-compute platform, but operating at national rather than state scale.
- San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC): NSF-funded supercomputing center at UC San Diego. Comparable as a long-established academic HPC provider offering shared GPU, compute, and storage services to multi-institutional research communities.
- Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC): NSF-funded HPC center jointly operated by Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh. Comparable as an NSF-funded shared HPC provider serving regional academic users with similar GPU and compute offerings.
- Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC): NSF-funded advanced computing center at UT Austin. Comparable as a major regional HPC provider offering GPU clusters, Science DMZ-style networking, and shared services to a multi-institutional user base.
Direct peers
- CloudBank: NSF-funded program that manages allocation of commercial cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP) credits to academic researchers. Comparable as an alternative funding-mediated path for U.S. researchers to access compute resources.
- Jetstream2: NSF-funded research cloud hosted at Indiana University and TACC, providing cloud-style VMs and GPU access to U.S. researchers. Comparable as an NSF-funded, easy-onboarding research compute resource competing for the same user workflows.
- Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC): Consortium-operated HPC facility shared by MIT, Harvard, BU, UMass, and Northeastern. Closely comparable in operating model — a multi-institutional, shared-governance HPC consortium with regional geographic focus.
- Open Science Grid (OSG): NSF-funded consortium providing shared high-throughput computing capacity across U.S. institutions. Already integrated with NCShare as a lower-priority partner on CaaS; comparable mission and operating model at a broader geographic scope.
Others
- MCNC: Parent operating entity for NCShare and operator of NCREN. Comparable as the statewide nonprofit network operator whose infrastructure model NCShare is built upon; serves the same institutional customers across NC.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
NCShare social profiles
Digital presenceNCShare financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NCShare leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
NCShare funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NCShare 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 NCShare
What does NCShare do?
NCShare is a statewide research cyberinfrastructure consortium operated by MCNC on its North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN). It delivers shared high-performance computing, GPU clusters (32 NVIDIA H200 GPUs), and Science DMZ networking to North Carolina colleges and universities at no cost to qualifying researchers and educators. Access is provided via federated identity (InCommon/COmanage) through self-service web portals including Open OnDemand and Container Manager.
Is NCShare a public or private company?
NCShare is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was NCShare founded?
NCShare was founded in 2022.
Where is NCShare based?
NCShare is headquartered in Durham, United States, in the North America region.
How does NCShare make money?
One revenue line is on record: NSF Grant Funding.
Who are NCShare's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Internet2, ACCESS (formerly XSEDE), San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) and Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC). Direct peers are CloudBank, Jetstream2, Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) and Open Science Grid (OSG). MCNC is listed as an others.
Does NCShare have an API?
No public API is recorded for NCShare.
What industry is NCShare in?
NCShare's product category is Research Computing Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAFAMAD, SDN & Controller-Based Management (Campus/DC Fabrics), with a secondary code of HDABABAK, Private Cloud Networking & SDN/NFV Management. Its NAICS code is 61171 and its SIC code is 8200.