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拆解CANN:当华为决定打开算力的「黑盒」
机器之心· 2025-12-19 06:38
编辑|Panda、泽南 大模型的竞争如火如荼,也有一群人正在研究如何降低门槛,让 AI 工具变得亲民。 最近,在 AI 基础算力上重磅频出的华为,又亮出了一张王牌:昇腾的底层基础软件, CANN 全面开源开放 。 昇腾宣布将通过一系列新举措,持续支持开发者在 AI 模型、算子、内核、底层资源等多个层级进行自主优化与自定义开发。通过开放共建,一个新兴的 AI 算力生态正在快速崛起,改变计算架构领域本已固化的格局。 CANN 全称为「神经网络异构计算架构」(Compute Architecture for Neural Networks) ,其作为连接上层 AI 训练框架(如 PyTorch、 TensorFlow、MindSpore 等)和底层 AI 芯片的桥梁,让开发者不用关心芯片细节就能调用底层算力。 最近一段时间,业内对于国产 AI 算力的需求大幅增长,让人们更加重视起硬件的计算架构。CANN 的开源开放引发了业界的广泛关注,当 CANN 这个在 整个 AI 技术栈中「承上启下」的关键角色被开源了之后,开发者们获得了定义算力的权力。 以前在 AI 芯片上的算子开发门槛高到不敢用,现在昇腾 CANN 把这层 ...
「从追赶者到引领者,路有多远?」 我们和CANN一线开发者聊了聊
机器之心· 2025-09-28 04:50
Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the transformation of the AI industry, emphasizing that the competition has shifted from hardware capabilities to a battle for software, developers, and ecosystem building, with Huawei's Ascend and its heterogeneous computing architecture CANN at the forefront of this change [1][4]. Summary by Sections CANN Open Source Announcement - Huawei's rotating chairman Xu Zhijun announced that the CANN hardware enabling will be fully open-sourced by December 30, 2025 [2]. Significance of CANN Open Source - The open-sourcing of CANN represents a profound self-revolution in the domestic AI infrastructure, aiming to break the closed model traditionally dominated by hardware manufacturers and embrace a more open and community-driven future [4][19]. - The success of the ecosystem relies on attracting academic innovation and creating a stable, universal, and efficient foundational tool for developers [5][18]. Developer Perspectives on CANN - Developers describe CANN's evolution as a challenging journey, with early versions requiring low-level programming skills, which hindered productivity [10][11]. - The introduction of the Ascend C programming language marked a significant improvement, aligning more closely with mainstream programming practices [15]. Challenges Faced by Developers - Early developers faced high technical barriers and a lack of stable architecture, leading to a difficult development environment [11][13]. - Systemic issues persisted, such as the inability to reproduce model accuracy across different frameworks due to a lack of transparency in the underlying systems [17]. The Role of Open Source - Open sourcing CANN is seen as a means to break down technical barriers and empower developers by providing transparency and control over the platform [21][23]. - The open-source model aims to foster a vibrant community where developers can contribute and innovate, moving away from reliance on a few official experts [29]. Ecosystem Empowerment - Open source provides unprecedented opportunities for deep integration between academia and industry, allowing researchers to address real-world problems and convert solutions into academic contributions [26]. - The shift from users to contributors is expected to cultivate a new generation of developers who can engage in high-quality projects [28]. Future Outlook for CANN - The current focus is on matching CUDA's capabilities while fostering original innovations within the CANN ecosystem [44]. - Huawei has committed to investing significant resources, including 1,500 petaflops of computing power and 30,000 development boards annually, to support the open-source community [45].