Rumor mill: A rumor from @CapFrameX on Twitter, suggests Nvidia is building AI-optimized graphics drivers that could improve GPU performance as much as 30%. Possibly a tall ask, but if true, this could give qualifying GeForce owners a noticeable free performance upgrade and revolutionize the way Nvidia (and later others) develop gaming drivers. Nvidia's first AI driver will reportedly release sometime in Q1 of 2022.

This is the first rumor we've seen about AI-driven driver development although we know chip makers already use AI to enhance chip research and development, this could bring tangible performance improvements to GPU hardware. According to another tweet by CapFrameX, the AI "bot" coding these optimizations effectively has complete access over the driver, including access to instructions, throughput, hardware utilization, threading, driver settings and more. This suggests the AI can optimize more than just GPU performance in games, with the potential to improve driver stability as well.

CapFrameX reports that the max performance potential is rumored to be a whopping 30% with Nvidia's first AI-optimized driver, with an average performance boost of 10%. We imagine this will vary on the title, and it could also mean faster optimizations for newer released, but if we see any sizable performance increases, it could account for similar performance benefits you might see from GPU overclocking.

[Rumor] Nvidia is working on AI optimized drivers. Release maybe this year (Q1).

-️ Up to 30% more performance
-️ Average improvement ~10%
-️ No info about specific gen

Take this with a grain of salt. If true Nvidia drivers will be real "fine wine". pic.twitter.com/QGTUL9iK7N

— CapFrameX (@CapFrameX) January 8, 2023

Instructions, throughput, hardware utilization, threading, settings...

— CapFrameX (@CapFrameX) January 8, 2023

But we must stress this is only a rumor and not certified evidence from Nvidia themselves. For all we know, this AI driver might not be in development at all, or it could be a complete wash. We'll have to wait for actual details to see if these potential AI optimizations go according to plan.

Also read: AI is everywhere, and it's exhausting...

If things do pan out though, AI could change the way Nvidia and other chipmakers develop drivers forever -- with Nvidia potentially getting the upper hand. On top of the performance enhancements, AI-driven driver development could reduce the amount of time and cost it takes Nvidia's driver development team to push out new GPU driver updates. If the AI gets mature enough, we could also see it improving GPU performance in applications outside of gaming.