Rebooting the Rust CUDA project

We're excited to announce the reboot of the Rust CUDA project. Rust CUDA enables you to write and run CUDA kernels in Rust, executing directly on NVIDIA GPUs using NVVM IR.

Our immediate focus is on modernizing the project and integrating with other GPU-related efforts in the Rust ecosystem.

To follow along or get involved, check out the rust-cuda repo on GitHub.

Call for contributors

We need your help to shape the future of CUDA programming in Rust. Whether you're a maintainer, contributor, or user, there's an opportunity to get involved. We're especially interested in adding maintainers to make the project sustainable.

Be aware that the process may be a bit bumpy as we work to get the project in order.

Relation to other GPU projects in the Rust ecosystem

We see significant opportunities for collaboration and unification with related projects.

• Rust GPU: This project is similar to Rust CUDA but targets SPIR-V for Vulkan GPUs.

  Our long-term vision for the two projects includes merging developer-facing APIs to provide a unified experience for GPU programming in Rust. Developers should not need to worry about underlying platforms (Vulkan vs. CUDA) or low-level IR (SPIR-V vs. NVVM) unless doing specialized work. This would make GPU programming in Rust feel as seamless as its abstractions for CPU architectures or operating systems.

  Christian Legnitto (LegNeato) is one of the maintainers for both projects.

• rustc PTX backend: The Rust compiler's experimental nvptx backend generates CUDA's low-level PTX IR. We plan to collaborate with this effort to determine how it can complement or integrate with rust-cuda's NVVM IR approach.

• cudarc: This crate provides a host-side abstraction for CUDA programming in Rust. We aim to explore how rust-cuda can interoperate with cudarc or consolidate efforts.

For a broader look at Rust and GPUs, check out the ecosystem overview page.

Short-term roadmap

Our immediate focus is on stabilizing and modernizing the Rust CUDA project:

• Merging outstanding PRs: Address the backlog of contributions.
• Closing outdated issues: Clean up the issue tracker to focus on actionable problems.
• Updating dependencies: Support the latest Rust toolchain and CUDA versions.
• New website: Launch a site with updated documentation, examples, and resources to make it easier for users to get started.

Medium-term roadmap

Once the Rust CUDA project is stabilized, we will explore new opportunities to advance its functionality and integrate with the broader ecosystem:

• Rust-C++ interop: Investigate Rust's recent C++ interoperability initiatives to see if they can be used to simplify host and library integration for CUDA.
• Rust community collaboration: Work with other Rust CUDA projects to consolidate and unify host-side tools and workflows where appropriate.
• PTX backend collaboration: Coordinate with the rustc PTX backend team to explore shared infrastructure and evaluate transitioning Rust CUDA from NVVM IR to raw PTX.
• rust-gpu collaboration: Leverage rust-gpu's tooling and compiler infrastructure to reduce duplication.

Long-term roadmap

Our long-term vision is to make GPU programming in Rust safe, ergonomic, fast, and fully integrated into the language:

• Rust compiler integration: Rust CUDA is currently an out-of-tree compiler backend. We aim to bring it in-tree and make it officially supported.
• Unified GPU API: Merge developer-facing APIs of rust-cuda and rust-gpu. This would abstract away platform and IR differences for most developers, leaving platform-specific concerns only for low-level or specialized use cases.
• Language evolution: Contribute to the Rust language's evolution to better support GPU programming, ensuring it remains safe, performant, and developer-friendly.

Acknowledgments

We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to Riccardo D'Ambrosio for starting the Rust CUDA project and putting in so much work to bring it to life. His efforts have laid the foundation for everything we are building on today. Thank you, Riccardo!