Intel has released NPU Driver 1.30, bringing build system improvements and new features to the open-source Intel NPU user-space support for Core Ultra SoCs.
Intel has released the Intel NPU Driver 1.30 milestone, advancing the open-source user-space support for Intel's Neural Processing Units (NPUs) on Linux systems. This update comes alongside the Intel IVPU kernel accelerator driver that has been integrated into the mainline Linux kernel, providing comprehensive NPU support for Core Ultra SoCs.
The release brings several important improvements to the build system and adds new capabilities for developers working with Intel's NPU technology. While Intel doesn't publish comprehensive changelogs for these driver updates, examining the code reveals meaningful enhancements that will benefit both end-users and developers.
One of the most significant changes in version 1.30 is a CMake tweak that simplifies building the driver for openSUSE in RPM format. This improvement aligns with Intel's recent efforts to provide better NPU support for openSUSE users, which began in late 2025 with the introduction of the linux-npu-driver package in that distribution. The addition of an Android CMake file to the upstream linux-npu-driver package also expands the driver's compatibility across different platforms.
A notable new feature in this release is the inclusion of the mul_add network in the linux-npu-driver source repository. This addition provides developers with more tools for optimizing NPU workloads and demonstrates Intel's continued investment in expanding the capabilities of their NPU ecosystem.
The release also includes updated Intel NPU firmware binaries, which have already been upstreamed into linux-firmware.git. These firmware updates are crucial for ensuring optimal performance and compatibility across Intel's latest processor generations.
Intel has verified the v1.30 driver package across multiple platforms, including Meteor Lake, Arrow Lake, Lunar Lake, and Panther Lake. This broad platform support ensures that users across Intel's latest processor families can benefit from the improvements and new features.
For developers and system administrators interested in the technical details, the source code and build instructions are available through Intel's GitHub repository. The open-source nature of this driver allows for community contributions and transparency in the development process.
This release represents another step forward in Intel's strategy to provide comprehensive NPU support across their processor lineup, enabling developers to take full advantage of the AI acceleration capabilities built into modern Intel Core Ultra processors.
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