• Cray-1 is the first supercomputer to be commemorated on a coin to honor one of America’s historical innovations
• Cray-1 was a catalyst for modern supercomputing that drives scientific breakthroughs and engineering possibilities, like AI and quantum, globally

It’s not every day a supercomputer is honored on a coin. That’s why, as a global HPC community, we couldn’t help but rejoice when the U.S. Mint releases a $1 American coin commemorating the Cray-1 supercomputer.

Cray-1 was first adopted by Los Alamos National Laboratory

Cray-1, developed in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin and introduced in 1976, became the first commercially successful supercomputer. The machine revolutionized the use of vector processing, a computing capability that dominated supercomputers from the 1970s through the early 1990s.

Known for its iconic C-shape, Cray-1 was designed with a purpose: Seymour Cray maximized performance by shortening the distance of wires that sent electrical signals faster. The ringed bench or “love seat” concealed all its wiring, circuit boards, and power and cooling supplies.

Its breakthrough engineering helped achieve 160 megaflops. That’s 10 times faster than any other system at its time.

Cray-1 catalyzed a new era of commercial supercomputing that continues to expand globally to advance humankind.

Building on five decades of supercomputing achievements Cray-1 catalyzed a new era of commercial supercomputing that continues to expand globally to advance humankind.

At HPE, we’ve been building on the innovation of Cray-1 and generations that followed to advance scientific missions worldwide.

We’re proud of the cutting-edge engineering we have developed, including reaching a pinnacle moment in achieving exascale computing that ushered in a new era of discovery and innovation. 

Extending the legacy of Cray-1 to power next-generation innovation Our leadership innovation also extends beyond high-end supercomputing to enable a growing market of mainstream systems.

Take AI for example.

Supercomputing is the backbone to the rapid emergence of AI. By bringing our expertise in supercomputing to AI, we deliver some of the world’s most powerful AI systems, such as sovereign AI factories or purpose-built rack-scale solutions, for large-scale needs.

Supercomputing also continues to demonstrate its capabilities in fueling other emerging technologies, like quantum. Working together with some of the world’s leading research centers and national laboratories, we are already making progress as an industry to advance capabilities through supercomputing to achieve quantum advantage.

It is amazing to see how far supercomputing has taken us. It wouldn’t have been possible without visionaries like Seymour Cray and the innovation that started it all: Cray-1.

We’re celebrating more than just a shiny new coin. We’re celebrating a legacy that continues to live on.