NOMAD

What NOMAD does

NOMAD is a Berlin-based, non-profit research data infrastructure consortium, legally operated through FAIR-DI e.V. (a registered German association, eingetragener Verein) and hosted primarily at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in partnership with the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society. The NOMAD Laboratory was established in 2017, with the FAIRmat NFDI consortium and NOMAD Center of Excellence launched in 2020. The organization serves academic researchers, research institutions, and a "Second Shell" of industry partners in materials R&D through a globally accessible web platform (nomad-lab.eu) and local institutional deployments (NOMAD Oasis). Its user base spans condensed-matter physics, computational chemistry, and materials science communities worldwide, accessed via a community-led go-to-market motion consisting of tutorials, workshops, conferences (MRS, APS, DPG), and peer recommendations.

The platform comprises three core services: the NOMAD Repository & Archive (containing over 19 million entries from DFT, molecular dynamics, and beyond-DFT calculations, with automated data extraction and structured metadata), the NOMAD Encyclopedia (a materials-oriented exploration interface over the repository via GUI and API), and the NOMAD AI Toolkit (a Jupyter notebook analytics environment). The technical stack includes exascale-targeted HPC libraries (ELPA eigenvalue solver, Green-X, Libxc-X for non-local Fock exchange), specialized AI/ML methods (SISSO compressed sensing, MACE and ACE equivariant neural networks, QUIP/GAP, subgroup discovery), and integrated codes (FHI-aims, Abinit, exciting, GPAW). NOMAD CAMELS (2024) and pynxtools (2023) extend coverage into experimental workflows via the NeXus/HDF5 standard, supported by Electronic Lab Notebook integration (eLabFTW). External integrations include the OPTIMADE API for materials database interoperability and MDAnalysis for molecular dynamics trajectory analysis. A public REST API and Python SDK (nomad-lab) enable programmatic access.

NOMAD operates as a free, open-source platform with no commercial pricing or transaction revenue. Funding flows through European and German national research grants — principally the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) initiative funded by BMBF, EU Horizon programs, and direct institutional support from the Max Planck Society and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. The organization has no disclosed venture funding, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no commercial customer base; its 11–50 staff operate across Berlin and affiliated European research institutions.

Name

NOMAD

Legal name

FAIR-DI e.V.

Website

https://nomad-coe.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NOMAD is a Berlin-based, non-profit research consortium operating the world's largest open-source computational materials science data platform (19M+ records) with an integrated AI Toolkit, serving academic researchers and industry materials R&D partners via the FAIRmat NFDI consortium.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scientific Research Data Infrastructure

NAICS

Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Enterprise Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Platforms (HDAEAKAJ)

Keywords

• Research data infrastructure
• Materials science platform
• FAIR data management
• Computational materials database
• Exascale scientific computing

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Public Research Infrastructure Service: NOMAD operates as a free, open-source research data infrastructure platform primarily funded through European and German national research grants (EU Horizon programs, German Ministry of Education and Research through NFDI). Revenue is not generated from commercial transactions but through research funding consortiums.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

NOMAD is a web-based open research data management platform for computational materials science, enabling uploading, storing, sharing, and publishing of research data following FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles. Its core consists of three integrated components: the NOMAD Repository & Archive (containing over 19 million materials science records), the NOMAD Encyclopedia for materials-oriented exploration via GUI and API, and the NOMAD AI Toolkit for machine-learning analytics against archived data. The platform extends to local institutional deployments through NOMAD OASIS and experimental workflows through pynxtools and NOMAD CAMELS.

Product overview

NOMAD is a web-based research data management platform for materials science, developed by the FAIRmat consortium and operated as part of the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI). The core offering consists of three integrated components: the NOMAD Repository & Archive (for uploading and storing computational materials data), the NOMAD Encyclopedia (for exploring and discovering materials), and the NOMAD AI Toolkit (for machine learning analytics on archived data). The platform extends through a modular plugin architecture supporting both computational codes (DFT, molecular dynamics, beyond-DFT) and experimental data formats via NeXus/pynxtools. NOMAD CAMELS provides specialized experimental workflows, while NOMAD Oasis enables local institutional deployments. All components support FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data principles with rich metadata, standardized schemas, and DOI publication.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NOMAD Repository & Archive Web-based platform for uploading, storing, sharing, and publishing computational materials science research data, containing over 19 million entries from DFT and beyond-DFT calculations with rich metadata, automated processing, and DOI assignment.
• NOMAD Encyclopedia Materials-oriented interface providing browsable access to materials, their properties, and computed data through GUI and API, enabling exploration of the materials space.
• NOMAD AI Toolkit Analytics environment with Jupyter notebooks for performing AI/ML analysis on NOMAD Archive data, supporting neural networks, kernel methods, compressed sensing (SISSO), subgroup discovery, and deep learning for materials informatics.
• NOMAD OASIS Local deployment option allowing institutions to operate NOMAD on their own infrastructure with custom rules, data policies, and schemas for institutional research data management.
• pynxtools Python framework for generating and validating NeXus files in experimental data workflows, enabling FAIR data management for ellipsometry, Raman spectroscopy, and other experimental techniques with automated conversion to NOMAD.
• NOMAD CAMELS Configurable Application for Measurements, Experiments and Laboratory Systems — a specialized extension for managing experimental materials science data workflows with standardized templates.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 19 million materials science data records available for exploration and reuse
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability9 records

Feature13 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and supporting.

• FAIRmat ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAIRmat is a consortium of the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) dedicated to building a FAIR data infrastructure for condensed-matter physics and the chemical physics of solids. FAIRmat develops and operates NOMAD as its primary platform, with the majority of the team based at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. The consortium includes multiple working areas (A-G) covering synthesis, experiment, computation, infrastructure, use cases, training, and coordination.
• FAIR-DI e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAIR-DI e.V. (FAIR Data Infrastructure for Materials Genomics) is a registered association that serves as a key organizational partner. It is registered at AG Berlin-Charlottenburg and handles data protection responsibilities. FAIR-DI coordinates the broader European materials data community.
• NOMAD Laboratory (nomad-lab.eu)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNOMAD Laboratory is a key affiliated organization, operated at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society. It develops advanced computational methods and AI tools for materials science, including the NOMAD AI Toolkit.
• Humboldt-Universität zu BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe primary institutional host for FAIRmat and NOMAD CoE activities, located at the Zum Großen Windkanal site in Berlin-Adlershof. Provides academic affiliation and institutional infrastructure.
• Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosts the NOMAD Laboratory and contributes foundational research in computational materials science, electronic structure methods, and AI-driven materials discovery. Key researchers including Matthias Scheffler and Claudia Draxl are affiliated with this institute.
• NFDI-MatWerksecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the Physical Sciences in NFDI collaboration, focusing on materials science data standards and interoperability within the German National Research Data Infrastructure.
• NFDI4CatsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerNFDI consortium for catalysis research, collaborating on FAIR data standards and interoperability for catalysis and surface science data.
• NFDI4ChemsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerNFDI consortium for chemistry, collaborating on cross-disciplinary FAIR data infrastructure and standards.
• DAPHNE4NFDIsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerNFDI consortium for photon and neutron facilities, collaborating on FAIR data standards for experimental materials science data.
• MaRDIsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerNFDI consortium for mathematics, contributing to data standards and workflows relevant to computational materials science.
• PUNCH4NFDIsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerNFDI consortium contributing to the Physical Sciences in NFDI collaborative events and data infrastructure development.
• NFDI (National Research Data Infrastructure)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman national initiative for research data management that funds the FAIRmat consortium and related NFDI consortia. NOMAD is a flagship project within this infrastructure.
• European HPC CenterssupportingTechnology or IntegrationCollaboration with European High Performance Computing centers including LUMI, Max Planck Society HPC, North-German Supercomputing Alliance, and Jülich Supercomputing Centre for exascale computational resources.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC): Long-established non-profit operating the Cambridge Structural Database for small-molecule and crystallographic data. Comparable as a foundational crystallographic and structural data provider, though with a much narrower (experimental-only) data scope.
• SpringerMaterials: Springer Nature's curated materials science database aggregating curated datasets and property information. Comparable as a broad materials-data resource for researchers, though narrower and commercial rather than community-driven open infrastructure.

Direct peers

• Materials Data Facility: U.S. National Science Foundation–funded data facility supporting publication, discovery, and reuse of materials datasets. Comparable as a community research data infrastructure for materials science with overlapping FAIR-data objectives.
• Materials Project: U.S. Department of Energy–backed computational materials science database providing computed properties of inorganic compounds via web platform and APIs. Directly comparable to NOMAD in mission, dataset type, and user base (DFT-driven, computed materials data).
• Materials Cloud: EPFL-hosted open platform for computational materials science offering archiving, sharing, and workflows for both computational and experimental data. Directly comparable in serving the same European research community with FAIR-compliant data infrastructure.
• AFLOW: Duke University–led high-throughput computational materials database and tool suite focused on inorganic crystal structure repositories. Comparable as a large-scale DFT-derived materials data resource serving condensed-matter and materials science researchers.
• OQMD: Northwestern University–operated Open Quantum Materials Database providing DFT-calculated formation energies and related properties. Compares as a peer computational materials database with similar DFT scope and researcher audience.

Others

• Zenodo: CERN-hosted open general-purpose research data repository used widely across scientific domains. Comparable as enabling FAIR-compliant research data publishing with DOI assignment, though domain-agnostic rather than materials-science-specific.

Emerging players

• Citrination: Materials informatics platform combining curated materials data with machine-learning tooling, originally spun out of the Materials Project. Comparable in offering AI-driven materials property prediction, but more commercial/marketplace in orientation.
• PubChem: NIH-hosted open chemistry information portal operated by the National Library of Medicine. Partial overlap with NOMAD's chemistry-relevant metadata and molecules, though focused on chemical compounds rather than materials properties.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nomadcoe
• GitHubgithub.com/nomad-coe
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/TheNOMADLaboratory
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nomadlaboratory

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about NOMAD