Scientific Computing Center des KIT (SCC)

What Scientific Computing Center des KIT (SCC) does

The Scientific Computing Center (SCC) is the central IT service center of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), a German public university and member of the Helmholtz Association. Founded in its current form in 2009 alongside KIT's merger, and renamed from "Steinbuch Centre for Computing" in November 2023, SCC provides high-performance computing, data management, cloud, AI, and digital workplace services to KIT's roughly 25,000+ students, its researchers and administrative staff, and to a broader national and international research community.

The center operates one of Europe's most powerful academic supercomputers — HoreKa, delivering approximately 17 PetaFLOPS and ranked 6th on the Green500 list at its 2021 commissioning — and is constructing its successor HoreKa 2 (Phase I CPU installation completed November 2025). It also operates GridKa, Germany's Tier-1 data center for the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG), which processes and archives CERN Large Hadron Collider data with approximately 300 Petabytes of tape storage. For Baden-Württemberg, SCC runs the state-wide bwUniCluster 3.0 (370+ nodes, launched April 2025), bwCloud-OS, bwDataArchive, bwSync&Share, and bwJupyter für die Lehre. Its AI portfolio includes KI-Toolbox (Open WebUI-based generative AI), Transcribe AI, Microsoft 365 Copilot with GPT-4, and a 24/7 SCC-ChatBot with retrieval over internal documentation. Open-source contributions include the Helmholtz Analytics Toolkit (HeAT), the Ginkgo sparse linear algebra library, COBalD/TARDIS workload management, and oidc-agent (now in Debian).

SCC is an internal unit of a government-owned public university and does not sell services commercially. Funding flows from KIT's institutional budget, the Baden-Württemberg state (bwHPC), federal sources including the German Research Foundation (DFG) and Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the Helmholtz Association, and the European Union (Horizon Europe, e.g., the EOSC-ARENA project). Specific disclosed grants include ~2 Mio. EUR from DFG (bwData4NFDI) and ~2.3 Mio. EUR+ from the EU (EOSC-ARENA). Designated by the Joint Science Conference (GWK) in November 2020 as one of eight national HPC centers (NHR@KIT), SCC also participates in the Helmholtz AI, HIFIS, NFDI, EGI, and EOSC federations. The center has roughly a dozen senior leaders in the firmographic record and operates from KIT's Campus Nord and Campus Süd sites in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Name

Scientific Computing Center des KIT (SCC)

Legal name

Scientific Computing Center des KIT (SCC)

Website

https://scc.kit.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Scientific Computing Center (SCC) is KIT's central IT unit, operating Europe's 17 PetaFLOPS HoreKa supercomputer, the GridKa CERN Tier-1 data center, and state-wide HPC and AI services for KIT, Baden-Württemberg universities, and national/international research consortia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Research Computing Services

NAICS

Computer Facilities Management Services (541513), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)

akta.pro primary industry

HPC-as-a-Product / On-Prem Managed HPC (Integrated Hardware + Ops) (HDACAOAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

HPC Supercomputers & Turnkey Systems (HDACAOAA), GPU-Accelerated HPC Systems (HDACAOAC), HPC System Software & Resource Management (Schedulers, MPI, OS Images) (HDACAOAH)

Keywords

• High performance computing
• Scientific research computing
• Research data management
• Cloud infrastructure services
• University IT services

Headquarters

HQ city

Karlsruhe

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: As the IT center of KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology), SCC is primarily funded through German federal and state government education and research budgets. Services are provided as part of KIT's public university infrastructure.

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SCC operates the central IT infrastructure of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), providing high-performance computing (HPC), large-scale data management, cloud and grid services, AI platforms, and university IT services. It runs flagship systems such as the HoreKa supercomputer, the GridKa Tier-1 data center for CERN's Worldwide LHC Computing Grid, and state-wide HPC clusters for Baden-Württemberg universities.

Product overview

The Scientific Computing Center (SCC) at KIT provides a comprehensive portfolio of IT services for research, teaching, and administration. The core infrastructure includes flagship supercomputers HoreKa and HoreKa 2 (upcoming), state HPC clusters bwUniCluster 3.0 and bwForCluster, and the Tier-1 GridKa data center for CERN. Data management offerings encompass LSDF online storage, bwDataArchive for long-term archiving, and bwSync&Share for file collaboration. Cloud services include bwCloud-OS virtualization and Serverhousing. The teaching stack features bwJupyter for interactive computing, ILIAS LMS, and Artemis for programming assignments. AI services comprise KI-Toolbox (Open WebUI-based), Transcribe AI for audio/video transcription, and Copilot in Microsoft 365. Collaboration tools include M365/Teams, Matrix (encrypted communication), GitLab, and Overleaf. Administrative systems cover Campus Management, User Portal (SAP), and bwCard Portal. The center also provides essential IT services including VPN, 2FA, printing, laptop lending, databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MS SQL), and the SCC Service Desk.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HoreKa (Hochleistungsrechner Karlsruhe) Supercomputer
• GridKa Tier-1 Data Center
• bwUniCluster 3.0
• Large Scale Data Facility (LSDF)
• bwDataArchive
• bwSync&Share
• bwCloud-OS
• KI-Toolbox
• Transcribe AI
• bwJupyter für die Lehre
• Microsoft 365 am KIT
• NovaCrate
• Artemis Learning Platform
• HoreKa 2 Supercomputer
• Matrix Encrypted Communication
• Helmholtz Analytics Toolkit (HeAT)
• Ginkgo Sparse Linear Algebra Library
• NVIDIA DGX A100 System at KIT
• NHR@KIT Graphcore IPU System
• Serverhousing Pilot Service

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability11 records

Feature17 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 June 2021SCC operates GridKa, a Tier-1 data center for the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG). GridKa processes and archives data from CERN's Large Hadron Collider experiments, supporting particle physics research globally.
• Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft (Helmholtz Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCC serves as a key computing center for the Helmholtz Association, providing AI computing infrastructure (HAICORE@KIT), federated IT services (HIFIS), and metadata collaboration platforms. Participates in Helmholtz AI, Helmholtz Metadata Collaboration, and other association-wide initiatives.
• European Open Science Cloud (EOSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCC contributes to the European Open Science Cloud through multiple EU projects including EOSC-ARENA, AI4EOSC, EOSC-Pillar, and EOSC-Synergy. Contributes to EU, EUDAT, and German EOSC nodes.
• Nationale Forschungsdateninfrastruktur (NFDI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCC participates in multiple NFDI consortia including NFDI4Ing (Engineering), NFDI-MatWerk (Materials Science), NFDI4Chem (Chemistry), and others. Provides research data management infrastructure and expertise.
• Baden-Württemberg UniversitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCC provides state-wide HPC services through bwHPC program including bwUniCluster 3.0, bwCloud-OS, and bwJupyter to all Baden-Württemberg universities. Part of state-funded collaborative infrastructure.
• Nationales Hochleistungsrechnen (NHR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCC operates NHR@KIT, one of eight national HPC centers in Germany designated by the Joint Science Conference (GWK). Provides HPC resources to researchers across Germany.
• EGI (European Grid Infrastructure)majorTechnology or IntegrationSCC participates in EGI providing computing resources and user support for distributed computing infrastructure across European research communities.
• DLR (German Aerospace Center)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCC collaborates with DLR on solar tower power plant database (Nature Energy publication), Heliostat optimization using AI, and renewable energy research projects.
• University of HeidelbergmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint funding from DFG (2 Mio. Euro total) for Large Scale Data Facility expansion for NFDI consortia with University of Heidelberg.
• University of StuttgartmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative development of bwJupyter for Teaching service with University of Stuttgart for statewide educational JupyterHub deployment.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves15 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS): Operates Switzerland's flagship HPC systems (e.g., Alps) for academic research. Peer in operating national-scale academic HPC, providing Tier-0/1 services to research communities.
• HLRS (High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart): University of Stuttgart's HPC center and an NHR site, partnering with SCC on bwJupyter. Operates one of Europe's largest HPC systems and shares SCC's profile as a state-funded academic supercomputing hub.
• Leibniz Rechenzentrum (LRZ): Bavarian Academy supercomputing center operating SuperMUC-NG and serving as an NHR site. Comparable in role and scale as a state-affiliated academic HPC and IT service provider with similar institutional mission to SCC.
• EPCC (Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre): University of Edinburgh's national HPC provider for the UK. Comparable as a UK national academic HPC centre offering services to researchers across multiple universities and disciplines.
• Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC): Spain's national supercomputing center hosting one of Europe's most powerful systems and operating as a PRACE Tier-0 site. Closely comparable in mission, scale, and participation in European HPC partnerships.
• Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC): Germany's other leading national HPC center, also part of the Helmholtz Association and an NHR site. Operates petascale systems, serves WLCG Tier-1 workloads, and provides similar scientific computing services — a direct, side-by-side comparator to SCC.
• National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA): US academic HPC center at the University of Illinois. Comparable as a longstanding university-affiliated supercomputing center providing HPC, data, and AI services to a large research community.
• RWTH Aachen IT Center (NHR@Aachen): RWTH Aachen's central IT and HPC provider, designated as one of eight NHR centers in Germany. Direct peer given parallel NHR designation, academic customer base, and HPC systems operation.
• Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB): Berlin-based NHR site providing HPC services to German researchers. Comparable federal/state role, similar research-computing customer base and consortium participation.

Regional players

• Pawsey Supercomputing Centre: Australia's national academic HPC facility serving Australian researchers. Comparable role and offering but based in a different geography, making it a regional rather than direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/scientific-computing-center-scc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Scientific Computing Center des KIT (SCC)