ZLUDA, the popular open-source library for porting NVIDIA's CUDA code onto AMD's ROCm stack, has now been taken down, as it didn't comply with legal terms.
ZLUDA Sees a Disappointing Ending As AMD Demanded Developers To Take It Down, Saying Its Illegal
ZLUDA made some serious headlines a few months ago. It made the practice of "code-porting" a whole lot easier, especially between NVIDIA CUDA and AMD's ROCm environments.
Originally, ZLUDA was designed to support Intel GPUs on NVIDIA's software stack, but eventually, AMD took care of the project and, together with multiple developers, molded it in a way that allowed them to break boundaries and access NVIDIA's CUDA onto their own AI hardware. However, this massive achievement hasn't lasted long since ZLUDA has now been taken down amid legal concerns.
After AMD abandoned the project, the asset's developers decided to make it open-source for the betterment of the community, but the code has been retracted from its GitHub repository, as the developer Andrzej Janik claims that they have received concerns from AMD surrounding the project's existence in legal terms. Here is what the developer had to say:
IMPORTANT
What happened
The code that was previously here has been taken down at AMD's request. The code was released with AMD's approval through an email. AMD's legal department now says it's not legally binding, hence the rollback. Before anyone asks: I have received no legal threats or any communication from NVIDIA.
What now
At this point, one more hostile corporation does not make much difference. I plan to rebuild ZLUDA starting from the pre-AMD codebase. Funding for the project is coming along and I hope to be able to share the details in the coming weeks. It will have a different scope and certain features will not come back.
I wanted it to be a surprise, but one of those features was support for NVIDIA GameWorks. I got it working in Batman: Arkham Knight, but I never finished it, and now that code will never see the light of the day:
With the open-source code not being available to the public now, it's really sad to see ZLUDA go away, given that it did break the barriers present in modern-day AI markets, allowing multiple architectures to interact with each other. Janik says that he does plan to rebuild ZLUDA, hence we can see a rebranded version surface over the internet, but that isn't certain for now.
News Source: Phoronix
About the author: Muhammad Zuhair is a hardware and technology reporter for Wccftech, specializing in the semiconductor industry and the complex interplay between technology, manufacturing, and geopolitics. His coverage focuses on the corporate strategies and technological roadmaps of industry giants like TSMC, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Intel. Zuhair's expertise lies in deconstructing complex topics such as fabrication nodes (e.g., 2nm process), the economic impact of policies like the CHIPS Act, and the strategic development of AI infrastructure from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
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