We grow the world’s collective ability to make discoveries and learn from one another.

We do this by operating shared cloud infrastructure for research and education communities, and by contributing to the open source tools they depend on.

The problem we address

Research and education communities face a difficult choice: manage fragile self-built infrastructure, or rely on proprietary platforms that create vendor lock-in. Either way, communities work in isolation. They can’t pool resources, share learnings, or collectively invest in the open source tools they depend on.

Our approach

2i2c creates a connection between the communities using open infrastructure, the team operating it, and the open source projects it’s built on. This creates a flywheel where each part reinforces the others:

A flywheel diagram showing the virtuous cycle: easier access to open infrastructure leads to more support for open source communities, which leads to more enhancements to open source tools, which leads to more discoveries for the global community, which leads back to easier access.
Our theory of impact: a virtuous cycle of open infrastructure, open source, and community impact.

Easier access to open infrastructure. We offer shared, managed infrastructure that eliminates the complexity distracting communities from their core work.

More support for open source communities. By serving many communities through a unified roadmap, we identify common needs and facilitate cross-community learning and collaboration.

More enhancements to open source tools. We develop solutions that work across contexts and contribute improvements upstream where they benefit everyone — not just our members.

More discoveries for the global community. Communities get reliable infrastructure without operational burden. Open source projects get sustained contribution and real-world feedback. The broader ecosystem benefits from improvements that would never happen if every community worked alone.

Our principles

These principles help communities trust us as stewards of critical workflows.

Transparency

Our infrastructure is transparent and modular, respecting the community’s Right to Replicate.

Empowerment

Our platform gives communities agency to design the service they need, and to manage it without 2i2c if they wish.

Partnership

Our participatory service model keeps our incentives aligned with community needs.

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