Hewlett Packard Enterprise said that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire supercomputer solutions provider Cray for about $1.3 billion. The acquisition is likely to bolster HPE’s high-performance computing (HPC) portfolio enabling it to offer HPC-as-a-Service and artificial intelligence and machine learning analytics through HPE GreenLake.
Cray is the provider of high-end supercomputing solutions that primarily focused on data-intensive workloads. Currently, it has about 100 supercomputer installations around the globe. After the completion of the acquisition about 1300 employees of the Seattle-based firm will become part of HPE. The company delivered revenue of $456 million in its most recent fiscal year, up 16 per cent year over year.
Cray’s supercomputing systems, delivered through their current generation XC and CS platforms, and next-generation Shasta series platform, have the ability to handle massive data sets, converged modelling, simulation, AI, and analytics workloads. In addition to supercomputers, they offer high-performance storage, low-latency high-performance HPC interconnects, a full HPC system software stack and programming environment, data analytics, and AI solutions – all currently delivered through integrated systems.
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 groundbreaking 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.
“Only by processing and analyzing this data will we be able to unlock the answers to critical challenges across medicine, climate change, space and more. Cray is a global technology leader in supercomputing and shares our deep commitment to innovation. By combining our world-class teams and technology, we will have the opportunity to drive the next generation of high-performance computing and play an important part in advancing the way people live and work,” said Antonio Neri, President and CEO, HPE.
Over the next three years, the HPC segment of the market and associated storage and services is expected to grow from approximately $28 billion in 2018 to approximately $35 billion in 2021, a compound annual growth rate1 of approximately 9 per cent. Exascale is a growing segment of overall HPC opportunities and more than $4 billion of Exascale opportunities are expected to be awarded over the next five years.
“This is an amazing opportunity to bring together Cray’s leading-edge technology and HPE’s wide reach and deep product portfolio, providing customers of all sizes with integrated solutions and unique supercomputing technology to address the full spectrum of their data-intensive needs,” said Peter Ungaro, President and CEO of Cray.
“HPE and Cray share a commitment to customer-centric innovation and a vision to create the global leader for the future of high-performance computing and AI. On behalf of the Cray Board of Directors, we are pleased to have reached an agreement that we believe maximizes value and are excited for the opportunities that this unique combination will create for both our employees and our customers.”
High-performance computing is a key component of HPE’s vision and growth strategy and the company currently offers world-class 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.
