Center of Excellence in Cybersecurity Research, Education and Outreach (CREO)

What Center of Excellence in Cybersecurity Research, Education and Outreach (CREO) does

CREO is a university research center within North Carolina A&T State University, a public historically Black university located in Greensboro, North Carolina. The center advances cybersecurity research, workforce development, and innovation across six thrust areas: artificial intelligence and machine learning, quantum computing, cyber-physical systems/IoT/edge security, microelectronics security, network security, and bio-security/bio-privacy. Its activities are organized under three service pillars — Research and Collaboration, Educational Initiatives, and Outreach Initiatives — through which it convenes faculty, students, industry partners, and government stakeholders around interdisciplinary, practice-driven cybersecurity work intended to translate into deployable technologies, intellectual property, and commercialization opportunities.

The center serves three primary constituencies: faculty and students engaged in cybersecurity research and experiential education; private-sector industry partners seeking collaborative research, talent pipeline access, and technology translation; and government agencies focused on national security, critical infrastructure resilience, and cybersecurity workforce development. It explicitly emphasizes developing a diverse cybersecurity workforce as a distinguishing element of its programming.

CREO is funded through university resources, external research grants, and government and industry partnership funding. It does not sell commercial products or services to external customers, and revenue figures, contract values, and funding totals are not disclosed in the source data. As a research center within a public state university, its operations are governed by NC A&T's institutional structure rather than by a traditional corporate ownership model.

Name

Center of Excellence in Cybersecurity Research, Education and Outreach (CREO)

Legal name

North Carolina A&T State University

Website

https://creo.ncat.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

University cybersecurity research center at North Carolina A&T State University advancing interdisciplinary research, workforce development, and outreach across AI/ML, quantum, cyber-physical systems, network, and bio-security domains for academic, industry, and government stakeholders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Greensboro

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Core offering

CREO is a university research center at North Carolina A&T State University that advances cybersecurity through three interconnected pillars: interdisciplinary research across AI/ML, quantum computing, cyber-physical systems/IoT, microelectronics, network, and bio-security domains; experiential educational programs preparing a diverse cybersecurity workforce; and strategic outreach and partnerships with industry and government stakeholders to translate research into deployable technologies and intellectual property.

Product overview

CREO is a unified university research center at North Carolina A&T State University that advances cybersecurity through three interconnected service pillars: Research and Collaboration (interdisciplinary research driving innovation in AI/ML, quantum computing, CPS/IoT security, microelectronics security, network security, and bio-security), Educational Initiatives (workforce development and experiential learning programs), and Outreach Initiatives (public engagement and strategic partnerships with industry and government stakeholders). The center acts as an aggregator for translating research outcomes into deployable technologies, intellectual property, and commercialization opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Industry PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnerships with private sector organizations to advance cybersecurity research, develop workforce talent pipelines, and translate research innovations into commercial applications and intellectual property.
• Government StakeholderscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with government agencies to address national security challenges, protect critical infrastructure, and support cybersecurity policy development and workforce development initiatives.

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Others

• SANS Institute: Largest established cybersecurity training and education organization. Comparable in the cybersecurity workforce development pillar, though operating commercially at much greater scale and not housed within a university.
• (ISC)²: Global nonprofit professional association for cybersecurity professionals. Thematically adjacent — supports the same workforce development and certification mission that CREO's educational initiatives serve — but is not a research center and does not directly compete for research funding.

Broad incumbents

• Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon: Federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) operated by Carnegie Mellon, with a large cybersecurity practice (including CERT). Comparable as a much larger established academic cybersecurity research entity, though broader in scope and operating at substantially greater scale.

Direct peers

• Center for Cybersecurity at UMBC: University of Maryland Baltimore County's cybersecurity research and education center. Comparable as a university-affiliated center with explicit focus on cybersecurity workforce development, research, and industry/government engagement.
• Georgia Tech Institute for Cybersecurity and Privacy: Georgia Tech's interdisciplinary cybersecurity research and education hub. Comparable in operating model: a university-based center advancing cybersecurity research, workforce development, and industry collaboration.
• Howard University Cybersecurity Program: Howard University's cybersecurity research and education activities at another HBCU. Most directly comparable peer: same HBCU context, same federal workforce pipeline mission, and same emphasis on developing a diverse cybersecurity workforce.
• CyLab Security and Privacy Institute: Carnegie Mellon University's cybersecurity and privacy research and education institute. Direct comparable: a university-based interdisciplinary cybersecurity research center that combines faculty research, student education, and industry/government partnerships to translate research into practice.
• Auburn University McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security: Auburn University's policy- and research-oriented institute on cyber and critical infrastructure security. Comparable as a university-based cybersecurity research center engaging with industry and government on national-security cyber priorities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ncatsuaggies
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ncatsuaggies
• Facebookfacebook.com/ncatsuaggies
• Instagraminstagram.com/ncatsuaggies/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/center-for-excellence-in-cybersecurity-research-education-and-outreach-creo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Center of Excellence in Cybersecurity Research, Education and Outreach (CREO)