Canonical announces it will support and distribute NVIDIA CUDA in Ubuntu

Today Canonical, the publisher of Ubuntu, announced support for the NVIDIA CUDA toolkit and the distribution of CUDA within Ubuntu’s repositories.  

CUDA is a parallel computing platform and programming model  that lets developers use NVIDIA GPUs for general-purpose processing. It exposes the GPU’s Single-Instruction Multiple Thread (SIMT) architecture, enabling fine-grained control over threads, memory hierarchies, and kernels to accelerate large-scale numerical and tensor operations.

Thanks to the long-time collaboration between Canonical and NVIDIA, the CUDA runtime has always been tested on Ubuntu, which is used in thousands of data centers. Distributing CUDA within Ubuntu will make it even easier for developers to build, iterate and deploy their AI apps using CUDA.

A new, easier way to install NVIDIA CUDA

Historically, developers would download the CUDA Toolkit directly from NVIDIA’s website. Today, Canonical is making it even easier for developers to access CUDA natively through their development environment. The CUDA toolkit and runtime will be directly distributed within Ubuntu. Developers using this new distribution channel will be able to use CUDA on their hardware with a native Ubuntu experience. Once CUDA redistribution is fully integrated into Ubuntu, application developers and system administrators can expect the current multi-step CUDA installation process to become a single command. 

For application developers targeting Ubuntu systems, this new distribution model means they can simply declare the CUDA runtime, while Ubuntu manages its installation and compatibility across a wide range of supported NVIDIA hardware. This ensures that CUDA will be more accessible and integrated into a widely-used and trusted Linux distribution.

Ubuntu’s software ecosystem

Besides supporting compatibility with runtimes like CUDA which are widely used for AI development, Ubuntu offers a securely-designed platform for developers using open source. 

For over 20 years, Canonical has been committed to a consistent release schedule for Ubuntu, maintaining its software supply chain and establishing it as a reliable platform for running workloads across the cloud, desktop, and edge devices. Ubuntu uses Advanced Package Tool (APT) to manage software from hundreds of decentralized contributors, enabling projects to scale seamlessly to millions of users. By streamlining software distribution at scale, Ubuntu makes it possible for software to reach a massive user base while preserving the security and integrity of the open source software supply chain. Users of Ubuntu can get access to a number of options that help maintain their work, including:

1. Long-Term Support (LTS) Releases: Ubuntu offers LTS releases, which are guaranteed to receive security updates for at least five years. This is critical for enterprise customers who need stability and security for long-term deployments.
2. Trusted Repositories: Canonical maintains a vast network of software repositories, ensuring that all packages are tested, validated, and compatible with each other. 
3. Ubuntu Pro: With an Ubuntu Pro subscription, users get expanded security maintenance for a wide range of open source packages, offering a complete and trustworthy software supply chain. With Ubuntu Pro, organizations can also expand the security maintenance period for every LTS for an additional 7 years, bringing coverage to a total of 12 years. Ubuntu Pro also includes access to Landscape, which facilitates systems management for Ubuntu machines. 

Ubuntu Pro is free for personal use on up to 5 machines, and enterprises can try it for free for 30 days. 

About Canonical 

Canonical, the publisher of Ubuntu, provides open source security, support, and services. Our portfolio covers critical systems, from the smallest devices to the largest clouds, from the kernel to containers, from databases to AI. With customers that include top tech brands, emerging startups, governments and home users, Canonical delivers trusted open source for everyone. 

Learn more at https://canonical.com/ 

Learn more

Find out more about Canonical’s collaboration with NVIDIA.