Surf

What Surf does

SURF is the ICT cooperative organization of Dutch education and research, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Utrecht with an engineering site at Amsterdam Science Park (SURFsara B.V.). It serves all Dutch universities, universities of applied sciences (HBO), university medical centers (UMCs), research institutes, and MBO vocational institutes through a cooperative membership model, functioning as the Netherlands' national research and education network (NREN). The organization delivers a broad ICT portfolio organized across eight service categories: identity and access management (SURFconext, eduID, SURFsecureID), procurement and distribution (SURFspot, SURFcumulus, SURF Vendor Compliance), security (SURFcert, SURFsoc, SURFaudit, eduVPN, Cybersave Yourself), network connectivity (eduroam, NetherLight, SURFfirewall), flexible education tools (edubadges, SURFeduhub), storage and data management (SURFdrive, Data Archive, Yoda Hosting), publishing services (SURF Data Repository, Persistent Identifiers), and compute resources including the national supercomputer Snellius and access to the European LUMI pre-exascale system.

Underlying technology includes high-performance computing infrastructure, identity federation protocols, software-defined networking, and shared cloud platforms. SURF also hosts the EuroSSQ-HPC quantum computer system at Amsterdam Science Park under a EuroHPC JU contract worth nearly EUR 10 million. The cooperative operates 33 professional communities with more than 8,500 members, runs events (SURF Summit, SURF Onderwijsdagen, SURF Security & Privacy Conference, SURF Inkoop Connect), and publishes tech trend reports that set direction for the Dutch education sector. Its go-to-market is direct cooperative distribution: services are provided to member institutions through collective membership agreements, supplemented by government subsidies for national research infrastructure and EU-funded project participation (ODISSEE, LUMI). Pricing is not publicly disclosed, varying by institution and service bundle; the only publicly listed pricing relates to conference tickets (EUR 200-420). SURF earns through recurring cooperative membership contributions and government appropriations rather than commercial sales.

Name

Surf

Legal name

SURF B.V.

Website

https://surf.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

SURF is a Dutch ICT cooperative serving all universities, universities of applied sciences, university medical centers, research institutes, and MBO institutes with shared infrastructure including identity management, national supercomputing, networking, cybersecurity, and storage services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Utrecht

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Cooperative Membership Contributions: SURF operates as a cooperative funded by member institutions (universities, universities of applied sciences, university medical centers, research institutes, and MBO institutes) who pay membership fees and contribute to shared ICT services. Additionally receives government subsidies for national research infrastructure.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

SURF operates as a Dutch ICT cooperative providing shared ICT infrastructure and services to Dutch universities, universities of applied sciences, university medical centers, research institutes, and vocational (MBO) institutions. Its core offerings include the Snellius national supercomputer and LUMI European pre-exascale system access, identity federation via SURFconext and eduID, 24/7 cybersecurity incident response (SURFcert/SURFsoc), national research networking with eduroam global WiFi roaming and 400 Gbps transatlantic links, shared cloud storage (SURFdrive, Research Drive, Data Archive), and collective procurement of software licenses through SURFspot.

Product overview

SURF is the ICT cooperative organization of education and research in the Netherlands, operating as a platform-plus-modules architecture offering over 60 distinct products and services. The portfolio is organized into eight main categories: Identity and Access Management (edu.nl, eduID, SURFconext, SURFsecureID), Procurement and Delivery (SURFspot, SURFcumulus, SURF Vendor Compliance), Security (Cybersave Yourself, eduVPN, OZON/NOZON, SURFaudit, SURFcert, SURFsoc), Network Connectivity (eduroam, SURFdomeinen, SURFfirewall, EVPN, SURFwireless, SURF Time&Frequency), Flexible Education (edubadges, Kies Op Maat, SURFeduhub, eduXchange), Storage and Data Management (Data Archive, Object Store, Research Drive, SURFdrive, Yoda Hosting, dCache), Publishing (CopyrightCheck, edusources, Persistent Identifiers, SURF Data Repository), and Compute (Snellius national supercomputer, HPC Cloud, SURF Research Cloud, LUMI European supercomputer). Additionally, SURF hosts events including SURF Security & Privacy Conference, SURF Onderwijsdagen, and SURF Inkoop Connect. The organization also partners with EuroHPC JU to host the EuroSSQ-HPC quantum computer system at Amsterdam Science Park.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• eduID: Identity and access management service for educational institutions
• SURFconext
• SURF Research Access Management
• SURFsecureID
• SURFspot
• SURFdrive
• SURFfilesender
• SURF Vendor Compliance
• SURFcert
• SURFaudit
• Snellius
• Cloud Research Consultancy
• eduVPN
• Cybersave Yourself
• Data Archive
• SURF Data Repository
• edubadges
• Yoda Hosting

Products and services

• Snellius National Supercomputer

Quantifiable outcome

• Upgraded transatlantic network capacity to 400 Gbps for international research collaboration
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• CanariecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 March 2026Partnership with Canarie of Canada to upgrade the transatlantic line between Montreal and Amsterdam from 100 Gbps to 400 Gbps. Part of efforts to enhance performance, resilience, and flexibility of the global research and education network.
• NordUnetcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 March 2026Partnership with NordUnet of the Nordic region to upgrade the transatlantic line between Montreal and Amsterdam from 100 Gbps to 400 Gbps. Collaboration aims to enhance international research network connectivity for data-intensive science.
• Center for Internet Security (CIS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 December 2025Partnership to promote cybersecurity best practices across Europe. Includes initiatives to raise awareness and provide access to CIS security standards and tools to SURF's member institutions. Collaboration supports the broader goal of improving cybersecurity posture in education and research sectors.
• EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 September 2025EuroHPC JU commissioned the EuroSSQ-HPC quantum computer system to be hosted by SURF at Amsterdam Science Park. Project budget of nearly EUR 10 million with potential upgrades and broad access for scientific and industrial users across Europe. Represents SURF's role as national host for European quantum computing infrastructure.
• CERNcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025CERN is a consortium partner in the ODISSEE project (EU-funded initiative for exabyte-scale scientific data processing). ODISSEE entered its second of three years in 2026 with focus on RISC-V open standards for sovereign European hardware stack.
• SKAO (Square Kilometre Array Observatory)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025SKAO is a consortium partner in the ODISSEE project, contributing to development of computing solutions for exabyte-scale scientific data processing. Project aims to address computational challenges posed by facilities generating petabyte-scale data per second.
• CNRScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research) is a consortium partner in the ODISSEE project for European exabyte-scale scientific data processing solutions.
• EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025EPFL is a consortium partner in the ODISSEE project, contributing to EU-funded initiative for computing solutions for exabyte-scale scientific data processing.
• ETH ZurichcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025ETH Zurich is a consortium partner in the ODISSEE project for exabyte-scale scientific data processing, exploring RISC-V open standards for sovereign European hardware.
• SiPearlcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025SiPearl is a consortium partner in the ODISSEE project, contributing to development of European processor technology for high-performance computing and AI workloads.
• NpulscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Npuls is a National Growth Fund program where SURF works together with MBO Raad and Vereniging Hogescholen on ICT innovation in education. SURF shares responsibility for this program advancing digital transformation in Dutch education.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/StichtingSURF
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/206815
• Xx.com/SURF_NL

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Surf