is it illegal to write abstraction APIs on top of CUDA? I have heard this argument for half of this decade and i think something that abstracts the CUDA stuff into a thin HAL that can also call other GPU Progamming interfaces would avoid vendor lock-in.

although, I guess the main challenge is the ever-changing surface of the CUDA api?

Edit: Ok so if the argument is we should be able to use NVIDIA GPUs without CUDA that any amount of abstraction is a moot point.

[–] mindbleach@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago

The argument is, fuck Nvidia's monopoly on GPU compute. AMD keeps quietly funding projects to simply translate CUDA, then backing off when that funding is discovered. That's how scared they are of a court battle. And that was before the AI bubble's infinite money glitch.