Cray gets research boost from government

Cray is getting $17 million over two years from the U.S. government to match a same-size investment of its own in a next-generation supercomputer code-named Black Widow. The funding will advance Cray's schedules for the machine, Chief Executive Jim Rottsolk said in a statement on Wednesday.

Cray sells several supercomputing systems, including "vector" machines that are uncommon but well-suited to scientific research and intelligence work such as decrypting communications. Black Widow is a future product in Cray's vector product line.