HPE to Build “Mission” and “Vision” Supercomputers for Los Alamos National Laboratory in Collaboration With NVIDIA, to Support AI Research and National Security

Next-generation direct liquid-cooled supercomputers will be based on the new HPE Cray Supercomputing GX5000 and feature NVIDIA Vera Rubin GPUs to advance AI-driven scientific research

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• Mission supercomputer, dedicated to support national security initiatives, will deliver 4X more performance, compared to previous system
• Vision supercomputer to execute complex AI workloads to enable increased, concurrent research and innovation for unclassified applications

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NVIDIA GTC DC – HPE (NYSE:HPE) today announced, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), that it has been selected to deliver two state-of-the-art supercomputers, named "Mission" and "Vision". The next-generation systems will be based on the new direct liquid-cooled HPE Cray Supercomputing GX5000 system and feature upcoming NVIDIA Vera Rubin Superchips. Mission and Vision are part of the DOE’s $370 million investment to accelerate scientific discovery, advance AI initiatives and strengthen national security.

“For decades, HPE and Los Alamos National Laboratory have collaborated on innovative supercomputing designs that deliver powerful capabilities to solve complex scientific challenges and bolster national security efforts,” said Trish Damkroger, senior vice president and general manager, HPC & AI Infrastructure Solutions at HPE. “We are proud to continue powering the lab’s journey with the upcoming Mission and Vision systems. These innovations will be among the first to feature next-generation HPE Cray supercomputing architecture to drive AI innovation and scientific impact.”

Mission and Vision: Revolutionizing Scientific Research and AI Advancement

The Mission supercomputer will be four times faster than LANL’s Crossroads system and will deliver advanced capabilities in AI, modeling, and simulation to support the NNSA’s security initiatives.

“NNSA has a proud history of applying science and technology to national security challenges. The next generation of NNSA supercomputers, marks a significant milestone in ensuring America's leadership in the global AI race,” said Brandon Williams, NNSA Administrator. “Thanks to the Administration and our private sector partners, HPE and NVIDIA, Mission and Vision will incorporate cutting-edge capabilities that will drive analysis and predictions crucial for effective, safe, and reliable national security.”

Vision will build on the success of the HPE-built Venado supercomputer, which was initially designated as a system for unclassified research. Vision will offer LANL a significant leap forward in computational capabilities for AI-driven research.

“Mission and Vision represent a significant investment in our laboratory’s future,” said Thom Mason, director of Los Alamos National Laboratory. “These systems will not only support critical national security missions but also empower researchers with the tools needed to advance AI and tackle global challenges. These new systems will enable us to push the boundaries of what’s possible in computational science.”

Both systems will feature the newly announced HPE Cray Supercomputing GX5000, NVIDIA Vera Rubin GPUs and NVIDIA Quantum-X800 InfiniBand networking. Purpose-built for exascale computing in the AI era, HPE Cray Supercomputing GX5000 delivers multi-tenant capabilities to streamline research output and offers powerful compute with 25 percent more density¹ as compared to its predecessor. The new HPE-built architecture accommodates open source server blade designs created by the Open Compute Project (OCP), providing LANL with increased flexibility.

“Los Alamos has long advanced the frontier of scientific discovery,” said Ian Buck, vice president of hyperscale and high-performance computing at NVIDIA. “With Mission and Vision, powered by NVIDIA accelerated computing and AI, Los Alamos will push the boundaries of simulation and generative intelligence—advancing science and pioneering the next era of high-performance research for the nation.”

The unveiling of Mission and Vision will coincide with NVIDIA GTC DC, where officials from the U.S. DOE, NNSA, LANL, HPE, and NVIDIA will discuss the systems’ capabilities and the opportunity to radically advance critical scientific and security initiatives.

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¹ A singular rack of GX5000 is 900 mm as compared to the 1,200 mm EX4000 cabinet