ZLUDA, an open-source CUDA translation layer, has lived two quite vivid lives with Intel and then AMD GPUs. It was nearly killed in August when AMD asked to take down the code developed using its funds. However, as its developer, Andrzej Janik, secured funding from a mysterious sponsor, ZLUDA now has a third life. This time around, the focus of ZLUDA will be to run AI/ML software designed for CUDA GPUs on processors from other vendors using a translation layer, reports Phoronix.
ZLUDA was originally designed to run creative professional CUDA-based applications on Intel and then AMD GPUs, while the upcoming iteration of ZLUDA shifts focus to accommodate AI and machine learning workloads. Also, the emphasis is now not just on Intel or AMD. Instead, it offers multiple GPU vendor support, making ZLUDA applicable across different GPU architectures. Nonetheless, for the time being, most development efforts are concentrated on AMD GPUs, particularly RDNA1 and newer architectures. Support is being built around AMD’s ROCm 6.1+ compute stack, laying the foundation for broader, multi-architecture compatibility in the future.
