CSUA

What CSUA does

CSUA (Computer Science Undergraduate Association) is a private, nonprofit student organization at UC Berkeley, founded in 1972 and self-described as the largest and oldest computer science club on campus. The organization serves registered UC Berkeley undergraduate students by providing free access to computing infrastructure — including SSH shell access via soda.berkeley.edu, personal web hosting, email forwarding, desktop machines in its 311 Soda Hall office, and a GPU server (Latte) featuring 8 NVIDIA Tesla P100 datacenter-class GPUs — alongside community programming such as workshops, hackathons, info sessions, LAN parties, peer tutoring, and the biannual Startup Fair.

The technical stack is a Linux-based server environment (Debian) with public SSH access, a Slurm-managed Docker cluster for the GPU server, web hosting via member public_html directories, and standard communications tooling (Discord, Slack, Google Calendar, Google Forms). CSUA does not develop proprietary software products for external sale; its software assets (e.g., the csua-backend GitHub repository) are internal operational tools. Notable technical differentiation includes the GPU compute donated by NVIDIA, which is unusual for an undergraduate organization.

The business model is membership-free, with revenue derived entirely from two streams: corporate sponsorships from technology and adjacent companies (which fund info sessions, tech talks, hackathons, and similar events in exchange for talent access) and ASUC funding as an officially sponsored student organization. The organization is governed by an elected 7-member Politburo plus an active officer corps of roughly 50 volunteers per semester, with no paid staff, no venture funding, and no equity structure. Customer acquisition is organic and community-led through campus channels, social media, and word-of-mouth, while corporate sponsor acquisition is handled by the VP of Industry Relations.

Name

CSUA

Legal name

Computer Science Undergraduate Association

Website

https://csua.berkeley.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CSUA is a UC Berkeley student-run nonprofit founded in 1972 providing free computing infrastructure (shell access, web hosting, GPU server) and community programming to undergraduate computer science students, funded by corporate sponsorships and ASUC support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student Organization Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Computer Training (61142), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAAAFAB

Community Center Education Programs

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Community & Public Education Programs (Libraries, Community Centers)

SECONDARYEDAEAHAF

Data Center, Server Room & Edge Closet Build‑out (Racks, Power, Cooling)

Education/Education Facilities & Support Services/IT Infrastructure & AV Classroom Install/Support (Non-EdTech)

Keywords

• Student organization
• Computer science club
• University computing services
• Student computing resources
• Tech community events

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Corporate Sponsorships: CSUA receives financial and material support from technology companies in exchange for hosting info sessions, tech talks, hackathons, and other events. Companies sponsor external events and receive access to the student talent pool.
2. ASUC Funding: As an ASUC-sponsored student organization, CSUA receives funding from the Associated Students of the University of California. Funds must be used for purposes promoting general welfare of the student body.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CSUA is a UC Berkeley student organization that provides free computing resources and community services to undergraduate computer science students. Core technical offerings include SSH shell access, personal web hosting, GPU computing via the Latte server with NVIDIA Tesla P100 GPUs, and on-site desktop machines. The organization also runs workshops, hackathons, info sessions, LAN parties, and a biannual Startup Fair to connect students with industry.

Product overview

CSUA (Computer Science Undergraduate Association) is a student-run organization at UC Berkeley providing computing resources and community services to undergraduate CS students. The core technical infrastructure includes SSH shell access via soda.berkeley.edu, personal web hosting through public_html directories, desktop machines in the office, and the Latte GPU server with 8 NVIDIA Tesla P100 GPUs. Beyond technical services, CSUA offers workshops on programming and professional skills, hackathons, info sessions, LAN parties, Startup Fair career events, peer tutoring, and office space at 311 Soda Hall. Membership grants access to all computing resources, the mailing list, and participation in club activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SSH Shell Access (soda.berkeley.edu)

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

47 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NVIDIAcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 September 2023NVIDIA donated GPU hardware enabling CSUA to provide a GPU server (Latte) with 8 NVIDIA Tesla P100 datacenter-class GPUs for member use. This is a significant technical resource for machine learning and computational tasks.
• DuolingominorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2023Corporate sponsor for Fall 2023. Hosted info sessions and/or recruited talent from CSUA membership.
• GoogleminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2023Corporate sponsor for Fall 2023. Hosted info sessions and/or recruited talent.
• IXLminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2023Corporate sponsor for Fall 2023.
• PersonaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2023Corporate sponsor for Fall 2023.
• SchlumbergerminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2023Corporate sponsor for Fall 2023.
• Tower Research CapitalminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023Corporate sponsor for Spring 2023 with info session.
• IntuitminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2022Corporate sponsor for Fall 2022 with info session.
• Avail MedsystemsminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022Corporate sponsor for Spring 2022, Startup Fair participant.
• Clipboard HealthminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022Corporate sponsor for Spring 2022.
• Kodiak RoboticsminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022Corporate sponsor for Spring 2022.
• MageminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022Corporate sponsor for Spring 2022.
• SPANminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022Corporate sponsor for Spring 2022.
• ZededaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022Corporate sponsor for Spring 2022.
• AiseraminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2021Corporate sponsor for Fall 2021.
• PineconeminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2021Corporate sponsor for Fall 2021.
• Recursion PharmaceuticalsminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2021Corporate sponsor for Fall 2021.
• wikiHowminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2021Corporate sponsor for Fall 2021.
• GoGuardianminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2020Corporate sponsor for Fall 2020 with Startup Fair Info Session.
• SnackpassminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2020Corporate sponsor for Fall 2020.
• TrueworkminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2020Corporate sponsor for Fall 2020.
• AmazonminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2019Corporate sponsor for Fall 2019 with TechTalk.
• YelpminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2019Corporate sponsor for Fall 2019.
• ZillowminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2019Corporate sponsor for Fall 2019.
• AppleminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019Corporate sponsor for Spring 2019.
• RobloxminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019Corporate sponsor for Spring 2019.
• Riot GamesminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2018Corporate sponsor for Fall 2018 with Coffee Chats.
• WayfairminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2018Corporate sponsor for Fall 2018.
• FacebookminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2017Corporate sponsor for Fall 2017 with Puzzle Hunt.
• PinterestminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2017Corporate sponsor for Fall 2017.
• QualcommminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2017Corporate sponsor for Fall 2017.
• SalesforceminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2017Corporate sponsor for Fall 2017.
• BlizzardminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2017Corporate sponsor for Spring 2017.
• CiscominorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2017Corporate sponsor for Spring 2017 with Puzzlehunt.
• NvidiaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2017Corporate sponsor for Spring 2017 with TechTalk and Machine Learning Server sponsorship.
• OracleminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2017Corporate sponsor for Spring 2017.
• TwiliominorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2017Corporate sponsor for Spring 2017.
• General MotorsminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2017Corporate sponsor for Spring 2017 with Tabling and Drive event.
• IBMminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2017Corporate sponsor for Spring 2017.
• Palo Alto NetworksminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2017Corporate sponsor for Spring 2017.
• Capital OneminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2016Corporate sponsor for Fall 2016.
• DropboxminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2016Corporate sponsor for Fall 2016 with Tech Talk.
• Goldman SachsminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2016Corporate sponsor for Fall 2016 with Coding Challenge.
• MicrosoftminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2016Corporate sponsor for Fall 2016.
• UberminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2016Corporate sponsor for Fall 2016.
• VoleonminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2016Corporate sponsor for Fall 2016.
• WorkdayminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2016Corporate sponsor for Fall 2016.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Major League Hacking (MLH): MLH is the official student hackathon league, sponsoring hackathons at universities across North America and providing infrastructure for student-run tech events. CSUA's hackathons, info sessions, and corporate sponsorships overlap directly with MLH's student-event model.
• Hack Club: Hack Club is a global network of student-led coding clubs that provide community, infrastructure, and hackathons to high school and college CS students. It operates the same playbook CSUA uses (community-driven, sponsor-funded, hackathon-focused) but at much larger scale across many schools.
• Open Computing Facility (OCF) at UC Berkeley: OCF is also a UC Berkeley student-run organization that provides free computing services (shell accounts, web hosting, printing) to students, faculty, and staff. It is the closest functional peer to CSUA on the same campus, running parallel server infrastructure and serving an overlapping student base.
• Computer Science Mentors (CSM) at UC Berkeley: CSM is a UC Berkeley student-run organization offering peer tutoring and small-group academic support for CS courses. It directly overlaps CSUA's tutoring, office hours, and academic support services for the same student population.
• HKN (Eta Kappa Nu) Mu Chapter at UC Berkeley: HKN's Mu Chapter is the UC Berkeley EECS honor society, providing peer advice, mock interviews, and resume critiques to the same EECS undergraduate population CSUA serves. It is one of the most active overlapping student groups on campus.
• UPenn's ACM / PennApps: PennApps is the student-run hackathon organization at UPenn and the original collegiate hackathon. It is the closest functional peer for CSUA outside Berkeley, running corporate-sponsored hackathons, tech talks, and recruiting events for CS undergraduates with a similar sponsorship model.

Broad incumbents

• Girls Who Code: Girls Who Code is a national nonprofit running programs and clubs for CS students with a strong emphasis on community, industry connections, and educational support. It serves a related mission of supporting CS student communities and runs comparable events and corporate-sponsored programming.
• Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Student Chapters: ACM is the largest international professional society for CS students and practitioners, with student chapters at universities worldwide. The ACM Berkeley chapter operates overlapping community, lecture, and academic support functions compared to CSUA, and serves the same student population.
• IEEE Computer Society Student Branch at Berkeley: IEEE CS is the international professional body serving the computing discipline, with student branches at universities running technical talks, workshops, and community events. It serves comparable audiences with overlapping programming to CSUA, but is part of a much broader global organization.

Emerging players

• CodeDay: CodeDay organizes student tech events, hackathons, and learning labs that connect CS students with industry sponsors and peer communities. It targets a similar demographic and uses a comparable sponsor-driven event model to CSUA's hackathons and Startup Fair.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/CSUA/csua-backend
• Instagraminstagram.com/csua.berkeley

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

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 CSUA