Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC)
Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) is a university research computing center operating the Anvil supercomputer and a fleet of community clusters to deliver high-performance computing, storage, and AI consulting services to Purdue faculty and external academic researchers nationwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersWest Lafayette, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) does
Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) is the centralized research computing facility of Purdue University, providing high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure, data storage, and expert consulting to faculty, staff, and graduate students conducting computationally intensive research. Operated as a department within Purdue IT with 42 staff, RCAC runs a multi-cluster platform anchored by Anvil — Purdue's most powerful supercomputer, built through a $10 million NSF system acquisition grant — and a fleet of community clusters including Gautschi, Gilbreth, Bell, Rossmann, and others, supported by Data Depot shared storage and Fortress long-term archive. Specialized service lines include the Scientific Solutions Group (research software engineering), Computational Biology Services (bioinformatics), AI and Data Science consulting, and the Envision Center for visualization.
RCAC's compute stack pairs CPU and GPU partitions (AMD EPYC Genoa CPUs, NVIDIA L40S and H100 GPUs, 100–200 Gbps InfiniBand interconnects) with HPC-specific storage and queuing infrastructure. Through the NSF-funded ACCESS program ($121 million national initiative) and the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot, Anvil is exposed to tens of thousands of researchers across the United States. Indiana's AI infrastructure footprint is extended through the I-CAN consortium with Indiana University and Notre Dame, and the center co-hosts regional AI workshops with Arizona State University and Mississippi State University.
As a non-commercial service unit within a public land-grant university, RCAC does not generate commercial revenue. Funding flows from NSF grants (notably the Anvil acquisition and ACCESS allocation), centralized Purdue University budgets, and user fees paid by research groups purchasing community cluster access. Customers are primarily Purdue faculty and staff, supplemented by external academic researchers accessing Anvil through ACCESS allocations and industry partners collaborating on research computing projects. The center is governed as part of Purdue IT, with no external equity holders and no venture capital exposure.
Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC)
- Legal name
- Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC), Purdue University
- Website
- https://rcac.purdue.edu
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) is a university research computing center operating the Anvil supercomputer and a fleet of community clusters to deliver high-performance computing, storage, and AI consulting services to Purdue faculty and external academic researchers nationwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) industry classification
Industry- Product category
- High-Performance Computing Services
- SIC
- Electronic Computers (3571)
- akta.pro primary industry
- AI/HPC Converged Systems (Hybrid Training/Simulation) (HDACAOAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- HPC Clusters & Scale-Out Compute (x86/ARM) (HDACAOAB), GPU-Accelerated HPC Systems (HDACAOAC), HPC System Software & Resource Management (Schedulers, MPI, OS Images) (HDACAOAH), Research Computing & High-Performance Computing (HPC) User Support (EDALAMAK)
Keywords
Where Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- West Lafayette
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- NSF Funding: RCAC receives significant funding through NSF grants, including the $10 million Anvil system acquisition and the $121 million ACCESS program. These federal investments fund infrastructure and operations.
- University Support: Centralized research computing resources funded by Purdue University to support faculty and staff researchers.
- Community Cluster Purchases: Research groups purchase access to community clusters, providing shared HPC resources at lower costs through collective negotiating power.
- Industry Partnerships: Partnerships with industry for research collaborations, software licensing, and technology access.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Community Clusters - Group Purchase Model |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) product offering
Product offeringCore offering
RCAC provides centralized high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure including supercomputers, community clusters, and data storage systems to support Purdue University faculty, staff, and external academic researchers. The center delivers advanced computational resources, AI/data science support, bioinformatics services, research software engineering, and national resource allocation through the NSF ACCESS program and NAIRR Pilot.
Product overview
RCAC operates as a centralized research computing division at Purdue University offering a platform-plus-services model. The core infrastructure consists of multiple Community Clusters (Bell, Gautschi, Gilbreth, Rossmann, Rowdy, Negishi, Geddes, Weber, Scholar, Hammer) providing CPU, GPU, and high-memory compute nodes, supplemented by storage systems (Data Depot, Fortress Archive) and the Anvil supercomputer. Around these computational resources, RCAC provides specialized service offerings including AI and Data Science support, Computational Biology/Bioinformatics Services, Software Engineering through the RSE Center, and access to the NSF-funded ACCESS program. Users can also access training, workshops, and consultation services through Coffee Hour sessions and the Knowledge Base.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Anvil: Purdue University's most powerful supercomputer, providing advanced computing capabilities through NSF ACCESS program
- Community Clusters
- ACCESS
- Women In HPC
- Scientific Solutions Group (SSG)
- Envision Center
Products and services
- Community Clusters
Quantifiable outcome
- Tens of thousands of researchers served nationally through ACCESS program
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC)
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- ACCESS (Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services & Support)coreNSF-funded program ($121M) connecting global computing, data, and research resources into a unified virtual system. Anvil provides resources through ACCESS, serving tens of thousands of researchers nationwide.
- National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) PilotcoreNAIRR Pilot initiative provides supplemental funding to Anvil for AI research access. RCAC co-hosts regional AI workshops as part of this initiative with partners Arizona State University and Mississippi State University.
- Arizona State University (ASU)majorASU collaborated with Purdue and Mississippi State to host the NSF NAIRR Regional AI Workshop. ASU's Research Technology Office Director provided opening welcome and facilitators contributed to workshop sessions.
- Mississippi State UniversitymajorPartnered with Purdue and ASU to host the NSF NAIRR Regional AI Workshop for researchers throughout the Midwest.
- Indiana UniversitymajorIU provides Jetstream 2 resources and participates in regional AI initiatives. IU's Director of the Luddy AI Center delivered keynote at NAIRR workshop. Both institutions collaborate on the Indiana AI Corridor consortium.
- Indiana Consortium for AI InnovatioN (I-CAN)majorI-CAN consortium of Indiana R1 universities (Purdue, IU, Notre Dame) makes advanced AI computing resources available to all Indiana researchers, including Anvil and Jetstream 2.
- Notre Dame UniversitymajorNotre Dame's Associate Director of Research Software Engineering participated in panel discussion on the Indiana AI Corridor. Part of the I-CAN consortium for statewide AI resource access.
- DellcoreDell partnered with AMD and Purdue for the Bell cluster deployment, contributing to Bell becoming the most powerful system ever deployed at Purdue.
- AMDcoreAMD partnered with Dell and Purdue for Bell cluster, providing AMD EPYC Rome processors. Bell's successor Gautschi uses AMD EPYC Genoa processors.
- Purdue ITcoreRCAC operates as part of Purdue IT, providing centralized research computing. Community Clusters are purchased through Purdue IT which negotiates collectively for research groups.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC): University-based HPC center at UT Austin operating national-scale supercomputers (Frontera, Stampede, Vista) and serving researchers through NSF ACCESS allocations, the same federal program in which RCAC's Anvil participates.
- Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC): Joint CMU/University of Pittsburgh HPC center operating Bridges-2 and contributing to NSF ACCESS, offering similar community allocations, GPU/HPC, and biomedical research services.
- National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA): University-based HPC center at UIUC operating Blue Waters/Delta supercomputers, providing NSF ACCESS compute, AI/data science consulting, and bioinformatics services — a near-direct functional mirror of RCAC.
- San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC): University-based HPC center at UC San Diego operating Expanse and contributing to NSF ACCESS, with comparable service portfolio (bioinformatics, AI, data management) and ACCESS allocation pathways.
- Center for Computational Research (CCR) at University at Buffalo: Mid-sized university HPC center offering community clusters, GPU compute, storage, and consulting services to regional researchers — a structural analog to RCAC at the institutional scale.
- University of Wisconsin–Madison Center for High Throughput Computing (CHTC): University-based research computing group providing HTC/HPC services, including contributions to the NSF ACCESS program, with a comparable faculty-driven allocation model.
Broad incumbents
- Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF): DOE-operated facility running Frontier (the leading US exascale system) with open-science allocations, operating at a scale above university centers but feeding the same research-compute ecosystem.
- Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF): DOE national-laboratory HPC facility operating Aurora/Theta, providing INCITE/ALCC allocations to researchers including through the ALCF Lighthouse program that RCAC explicitly supports.
- AWS HPC on EC2 / ParallelCluster: Commercial hyperscaler offering on-demand GPU and HPC capacity (H100 instances, ParallelCluster) that competes with university clusters for budget-share, especially for industry partners.
Regional players
- Indiana University Research Technologies (Jetstream 2): Indiana University's research computing arm that operates Jetstream 2, the cloud-style HPC resource contributed to the I-CAN consortium with RCAC; closest geographic peer and direct consortium partner.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) social profiles
Digital presencePurdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC)
What does Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) do?
RCAC provides centralized high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure including supercomputers, community clusters, and data storage systems to support Purdue University faculty, staff, and external academic researchers. The center delivers advanced computational resources, AI/data science support, bioinformatics services, research software engineering, and national resource allocation through the NSF ACCESS program and NAIRR Pilot.
Is Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) a public or private company?
Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) founded?
Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) was founded in -1. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) based?
Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) is headquartered in West Lafayette, United States, in the North America region.
How does Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. NSF Funding is the primary driver. The others are university Support, community Cluster Purchases and industry Partnerships.
Who are Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC)'s main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC), National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), Center for Computational Research (CCR) at University at Buffalo and University of Wisconsin–Madison Center for High Throughput Computing (CHTC). Broad incumbents are Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF), Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF) and AWS HPC on EC2 / ParallelCluster. Indiana University Research Technologies (Jetstream 2) is listed as a regional player.
Does Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) have an API?
No public API is recorded for Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC).
What industry is Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) in?
Purdue's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC)'s product category is High-Performance Computing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDACAOAD, AI/HPC Converged Systems (Hybrid Training/Simulation), with a secondary code of HDACAOAB, HPC Clusters & Scale-Out Compute (x86/ARM). Its SIC code is 3571.