How Deepseek Destroyed OpenAI, and How You Can Do it Too!

What is PTX/ASM?

In the rapidly evolving world of GPU computing, performance can often be the make-or-break factor in an application’s success. One of the secret weapons behind high-performance frameworks like DeepSeek is the intelligent use of CUDA PTX and inline assembly (ASM). DeepSeek’s remarkable efficiency and speed didn’t come solely from high-level algorithm design; it was also the way DeepSeek got so good by exploiting low-level CUDA PTX/ASM optimizations to squeeze every ounce of performance from modern GPUs.

What is CUDA PTX?

CUDA PTX is an intermediate assembly-like language used by NVIDIA GPUs. Think of PTX as the “assembly language” for CUDA, though it’s higher-level than the actual machine code executed on the GPU. When you compile CUDA code using nvcc, your high-level C/C++ code is transformed into PTX code, which is then optimized and further compiled down to machine-specific binary code (SASS) for the target GPU, more specifically:

• Portability: PTX abstracts many hardware details, making it easier to write code that works across different GPU architectures.
• Optimization: Low-level optimizations in PTX can yield performance improvements by providing more control over hardware-specific features like memory hierarchy, instruction scheduling, and thread management.
• Debugging and Learning: Examining the generated PTX can offer insights into how your…