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In a calculated gamble, Oregon-based Floating Point Systems Inc. is betting that a computer salvaged from floundering Celerity Computing Corp. will be its own salvation.
In a deal slated to close this month, Floating Point has agreed to buy all the assets of Celerity, a San Diego-based computer manufacturer that lost $12.68 million in 1987.
A $2.5 million deal, the asset sale is risky because Floating Point essentially is buying the uncompleted Celerity 6000 minisupercomputer -- a high-speed, relatively low-priced minisupercomputer that is as yet untested.
Floating Point has declined to say when the computer will come on line, but sources said the company could announce the new product in October.
Meanwhile, Floating Point is in serious financial trouble. According to a recent company prospectus, Floating Point does not know when -- or if -- it will become profitable again.
There is a third hurdle to be cleared as well: Even if Floating Point completes the development of the Celerity 6000 and brings it to market (probably under a new name), some analysts are not convinced it can survive the fierce competition in the minisupercomputer field.
Minisupercomputers are 64-bit processors selling for from $100,000 to $1 million and targeted for use in engineering and scientific environments -- a market that has proven to be narrow.
At one time, Celerity had a jump on competition. It was supposed to unveil the 6000 in the fourth quarter of 1987. But delays in the delivery of computer chips from Bipolar Integrated Technology Inc. stalled the production by six months, Celerity officials said.
Celerity began hemorrhaging, and in April 1988, it was looking for a savior. In May, Floating Point agreed...