RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science

What RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science does

RIKEN Center for Computational Science (AICS / R-CCS) is a national research institute of Japan, operating under RIKEN (理化学研究所) and ultimately funded through MEXT, that is designated as the operator of Japan's flagship high-performance computing infrastructure. Established around 2010 and headquartered at 7-1-26 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe (Hyogo), the institute runs the K computer (京), a jointly developed RIKEN–Fujitsu system built around 88,128 SPARC64 VIIIfx compute nodes delivering 10.51 petaflops LINPACK performance, and is leading the development of its Post-K successor Fugaku under the national Flagship 2020 Project. Resource access is delivered through the HPCI shared-use portal under a merit-based allocation framework rather than commercial pricing, serving a primary segment of Japanese academic and research institutions (life sciences, materials, climate, earthquake prediction, drug discovery, astrophysics) and a secondary segment of industrial users in automotive, manufacturing, and energy.

The institute's underlying technology stack combines the proprietary K/Fugaku processor and interconnect architecture, an extensive suite of system-software and programming-framework teams, application-co-design work with Fujitsu, and a federated national infrastructure (HPCI) tying K/Fugaku to other Japanese HPC resources. Its revenue mechanics are entirely state-driven: direct appropriations from MEXT/RIKEN cover capital and operating costs, with no disclosed commercial revenue, no equity ownership, and no fee-for-service billing to users (pricing details are explicitly not publicly disclosed). Customer acquisition and outreach are conducted through scientific publications, international HPC conferences (SC, ISC), a quarterly public magazine ("Computational Science World"), Japanese broadcaster collaborations (NHK, TV Tokyo, MBS), and dedicated industry-partnership and student-training programs, all channeled through the HPCI allocation portal as the single distribution mechanism. Recognition has included TOP500 #1 in 2011, two Gordon Bell Awards (SC11, SC12), Graph500 #1, HPCG #1, HPC Challenge sweeps at SC11 and SC16, and SC16 Best Paper and Best Poster awards.

R-CCS is governed as a component of a national research and development organization rather than an independent corporate entity, sits within MEXT's oversight, and is operated solely for Japan's national scientific and industrial compute needs; it has no subsidiaries, no M&A history, and no exposure to private equity, venture, or public markets. Headcount is reported in the 1,001–5,000 range. Recent strategic activity is centered on the Post-K/Fugaku transition and a March 2026 three-year MOU with Singapore's National Quantum Computing Hub for hybrid quantum-classical computing research, signaling an extension of the institute's charter into quantum-systems integration while remaining anchored to its HPC mandate.

Name

RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science

Legal name

理化学研究所 計算科学研究機構

Website

https://aics.riken.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

RIKEN Center for Computational Science (AICS/R-CCS) is a Japanese national research institute that operates the K computer and post-K Fugaku supercomputers, providing shared high-performance computing access to Japanese academic researchers and approved industry partners through the HPCI national infrastructure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

High-Performance Computing Infrastructure

NAICS

Electronic Computer Manufacturing (334111)

SIC

Electronic Computers (3571)

akta.pro primary industry

HPC Supercomputers & Turnkey Systems (HDACAOAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

HPC Clusters & Scale-Out Compute (x86/ARM) (HDACAOAB), AI/HPC Converged Systems (Hybrid Training/Simulation) (HDACAOAD), Compute & Acceleration ICs (CPU/GPU/AI/FPGA/ASIC) (HDAHABAC), GPU-Accelerated HPC Systems (HDACAOAC)

Keywords

• High performance computing
• Supercomputer infrastructure
• Computational science
• HPC shared access
• Scientific simulation

Headquarters

HQ city

Hyogo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

RIKEN AICS operates Japan's flagship supercomputing infrastructure, primarily the K computer (京) — a 10.51 petaflop supercomputer co-developed with Fujitsu — and develops the next-generation Post-K (Fugaku) supercomputer under the Flagship 2020 Project. The institute also coordinates the HPCI shared-use system connecting K computer resources with other Japanese HPC facilities, providing high-performance computing access to academic researchers and approved industry partners across life sciences, materials, climate, disaster prevention, and manufacturing applications.

Product overview

RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science (AICS) operates Japan's flagship supercomputing infrastructure. The primary offerings include the K computer (京) - a world-leading 10.51 petaflop supercomputer developed jointly with Fujitsu - and the Post-K successor project (Flagship 2020). AICS also coordinates the HPCI system for national supercomputing resource sharing. These systems support research across diverse fields including life sciences, materials science, weather/climate prediction, disaster prevention, drug discovery, and industrial applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 京 (K computer): The K computer is a flagship supercomputer developed jointly by RIKEN and Fujitsu, operated by R-CCS. It achieved world No. 1 on TOP500 in 2011 and has been used for a wide range of scientific simulations.

Products and services

• K computer (京) The K computer (京) is a flagship supercomputer jointly developed by RIKEN and Fujitsu, achieving world-top computational performance of 10.51 petaflops with SPARC64 VIIIfx processors across 88,128 compute nodes. It supports advanced scientific research across life sciences, materials science, computational science, weather/climate prediction, disaster prevention, drug discovery, and industrial applications for approved academic and industrial users.
• Post-K Supercomputer (Post-K / Fugaku) The Post-K (Flagship 2020 Project) is the next-generation flagship supercomputer targeting exascale performance as the successor to the K computer. It is designed to advance computational science capabilities for societal and scientific challenges including drug discovery, materials, energy, climate/disaster prevention, next-generation manufacturing, and astrophysics.
• HPCI (High Performance Computing Infrastructure) HPCI is Japan's national supercomputing infrastructure system that connects the K computer and other Japanese supercomputers through a shared portal, enabling efficient shared access to high-performance computing resources for approved research projects via a merit-based project allocation process.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10.51 petaflops LINPACK performance achieving TOP500 world #1 in 2011
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RIKEN Center for Computational Science (R-CCS) with Singapore's National Quantum Computing Hub (NQCH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 March 2026Three-year Memorandum of Understanding signed between Japan's RIKEN Center for Computational Science and Singapore's National Quantum Computing Hub (NQCH) for collaboration on hybrid quantum-classical computing platforms and applications research. Focus on joint development of middleware and system software with shared access to Japan's Fugaku supercomputer and Singapore's national supercomputing infrastructure. Builds on bilateral government memorandum on quantum cooperation signed between Japan and Singapore in January 2026.
• FujitsucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint development partnership with Fujitsu for the K computer (京) and subsequent Post-K (Fugaku) supercomputer systems. Fujitsu provides hardware development and manufacturing capabilities while RIKEN leads system integration, software development, and research applications.
• HPCI Consortium (5 Strategic Programs)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative framework with five HPCI strategic programs covering: (1) Life Sciences and Drug Discovery, (2) New Materials and Energy, (3) Disaster Prevention and Climate Prediction, (4) Next-Generation Manufacturing, and (5) Origin of Matter and Universe. Enables interdisciplinary research across Japanese HPC resources.
• Kyoto University, Osaka University, and other academic institutionsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVarious collaborative research agreements with Japanese universities for specific research projects using K computer and post-K systems.
• Tokyo Institute of TechnologyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research on computational methods and algorithms, including collaborative work on programming frameworks and performance optimization techniques for supercomputing applications.
• Kobe UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation agreement signed in 2012 for collaboration in computational science and computer science research.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/riken
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• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/riken

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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