ExecuTorch WebGPU runs PyTorch models in the browser
Removing the conversion step means the standard PyTorch export path now covers browser deployment, which collapses a tooling gap for teams shipping web-based AI demos and privacy-sensitive inference. Developers building in-browser assistants, image editors or audio tools can test it today via the WebGPU Playground. It gives web apps an alternative to server-side APIs from OpenAI or Google, with no data leaving the tab.
PyTorch has shipped a WebGPU backend for ExecuTorch, letting developers run PyTorch models directly on the GPU inside the browser. Instead of converting models to another framework's format, developers export once with torch.export and the resulting .pte file runs in WebGPU-capable browsers such as Chrome and Safari.
All inference runs locally in the browser tab, so prompts, photos and audio never leave the device — a privacy and latency win for on-device AI. The backend already supports a range of models including Llama 3.2, Qwen3, Gemma 3, SmolVLM, SAM 2, Depth Anything V2, D-FINE, Real-ESRGAN and Whisper, and supports LoRA and DiReFT fine-tuning directly on-device.
The work was built by Julian Ng-Thow-Hing, Siddartha Pothapragada, Stephen Jia, Digant Desai and Bilgin Cagatay. Models can be tried in the ExecuTorch WebGPU Playground online.
ExecuTorch WebGPU, PyTorch models on the GPU, in the browser.
Running a PyTorch model in the browser has usually meant converting it to another framework's format first. With ExecuTorch's new WebGPU backend, you export once with torch.export, and the same .pte file runs in WebGPU browsers such as Chrome and Safari. Everything runs locally in the tab, so prompts, photos and audio never leave the device.
The backend already runs Llama 3.2, Qwen3, Gemma 3, SmolVLM, SAM 2, Depth Anything V2, D-FINE, Real-ESRGAN and Whisper, and supports LoRA and DiReFT fine-tuning on-device.
By Julian Ng-Thow-Hing (@hing3074), Siddartha Pothapragada, Stephen Jia, Digant Desai (@digant23), and Bilgin Cagatay (@BilginCatay).
Read the post: https://t.co/Cwd35vpnch Try the models in the ExecuTorch WebGPU Playground: https://t.co/8sDhPAgrvK
This report is categorized under AITOP's "Products" desk, focusing on US frontier AI labs and Silicon Valley technology leaders. Within our cross-regional analytical framework, it directly maps to AI developer toolchains, coding agents, and engineering workflows. Key entities and technical topics under continuous tracking include PyTorch, ExecuTorch, WebGPU, on-device inference.
Source attribution: curated from PyTorch (@PyTorch).
