Seattle-based Cray is aiming to improve its position in high-performance computing with a $25 million cash acquisition of Appro International — a California-based company that is currently the No. 3 provider of systems on the closely watched Top100 supercomputer list.

Appro, headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., will form the basis for a new Cluster Solutions business inside of Cray. That business will be led by Appro CEO Daniel Kim, according to a news release announcing the deal. Among other benefits, the companies say Cray will be able to offer Appro’s technologies to a wider market in new parts of the world.

Separately this morning, Cray announced a net loss of $5.2 million for the third quarter, an improvement from the net loss of $12.2 million in the third quarter of last year. The company’s business results tend to vary widely quarter-by-quarter, depending largely on big contracts for supercomputer installations.

Post corrected at 9:21 a.m. to clarify Appro’s position on the Top100 list.

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