Intel’s next-generation Lunar Lake CPUs will include a whole new VPU engine, which has received initial support in Linux 6.6. According to Phoronix, DRM (Direct Rendering Manager), a Linux subsystem, has announced support for VPU4, which is slated to arrive with Intel’s Lunar Lake CPUs.

VPUs are “Versatile Processing Units” that are dedicated to improving performance in deep learning and HPC applications for people who are unfamiliar with them. The units have recently acquired traction as a result of the AI boom, and it appears that Intel is taking “VPUs” considerably more seriously than it previously did.

The first patches for “VPU4 enablement” appeared in Linux 6.3, revealing Intel’s ambitions to integrate the specialised AI engine into Lunar Lake CPUs.

With VPU4 support in Linux 6.6, Intel is clearly playing it safe by giving support for a version that is still two years away. According to Phoronix, more progress on VPUs is expected in the following kernel cycles, so we could see even more developments, potentially leading to a final conclusion.

The business also recently stated that the key driving architectures for its next-generation “Core Ultra” family will be Lion Cove P-Cores and Skymont E-Cores in Lunar Lake CPUs.

Intel’s approach to next-generation launches is certainly intriguing, and the company isn’t alone in developing future architectures. We recently reported that AMD has published Freesync Panel Replay, as well as preliminary fixes for the future RDNA4 architecture, implying that Team Red is also interested in making Linux a much larger platform than it is now.

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