NEWTOWN, Conn. -- In a deal aimed at creating a comprehensice computing portfolio, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) announced it would acquire supercomputer producer Cray in a deal valued at $1.3 billion.
Cray recently announced an Exascale supercomputer contract for over $600 million for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The system, which is targeted to be the world’s fastest system, will enable research and AI, using Cray’s new Shasta system architecture and Slingshot interconnect. The company was also part of an award with Intel for the first U.S. Exascale contract from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, with Cray’s portion of the contract valued at over $100 million.
According to a company statement, high performance computing is a key component of HPE’s vision and growth strategy and the company currently offers HPC solutions, including HPE Apollo and SGI, to customers worldwide. This portfolio will be further strengthened by leveraging Cray’s foundational technologies and adding complementary solutions. The combined company will also reach a broader set of end markets, offering enterprise, academic and government customers a broad range of solutions and deep expertise to solve their most complex problems. Together, HPE and Cray will have enhanced opportunities for growth and the integrated platform, scale and resources to lead the Exascale era of high performance computing.
The transaction is expected to close by the first quarter of HPE’s fiscal year 2020.