Intel has officially released NPU Driver 1.35.0 as stable on July 24, 2026, introducing support for the Wildcat Lake chip and enhancing Linux AI Acceleration for budget Core Series 3 processors. The update features dynamic shape optimization for generative AI inference and updates to the Level Zero API, which now includes thread-id tracing for improved multi-threaded debugging. Additionally, the driver modernization has deprecated the old executable creation API, streamlining the build system and firmware updates. Although WSL2 support is still pending, the release marks a significant advancement in Intel's commitment to maintaining a robust open-source NPU driver stack for Linux
Intel Releases NPU Driver 1.35.0 Adding Wildcat Lake and Dynamic Shape Optimizations
Intel has promoted NPU Driver 1.35.0 to stable as of July 24, 2026, with zero code changes between the release candidate and the final tag. The update officially adds Wildcat Lake to the verified configuration table, giving budget Core Series 3 chips full Linux AI Acceleration support alongside Panther Lake. You will get dynamic shape optimization for generative AI inference, a Level Zero jump to v1.28.2 with thread-id tracing, and a compiler modernization that deprecated the old executable creation API. Official Ubuntu 24.04 .deb packages are ready now, though WSL2 support remains on the backlog for now.
