They Came In Search of Better Software. In April, it delivered its first to the San Diego Supercomputer Center, a facility funded by the National Science Foundation. Some investment pros believe it will. He expects Tera to have earnings of 58 cents a share in 1999.
Skeptics point out that there have been no big leaps in supercomputer technology in recent years.
The leader in supercomputer technology, Cray Research, was acquired by Silicon Graphics in 1996. Defense is interested in supercomputers to speed up the design of aircraft and weapons systems and to simulate nuclear blasts, says one Tera insider. Tera CEO Jim Rottsolk thinks that analysts' estimates may turn out to be conservative. He says several auto and aerospace executives have approached him for possible orders, which he figures would carry Tera into an even much larger market. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.