Intel NPU Driver v1.33.0 release notes

⚙️ Verified Configuration

Platform	System	Kernel	Firmware
Meteor Lake	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS	6.17.0-29-generic	`20260505MTL_CLIENT_SILICON-NVR+NN-deployment3b1e1e826d34b0aeea5cc6d75b017eb4cbf5b7353b1e1e826d34b0aeea5cc6d75b017eb4cbf5b7353b1e1e826d3`
Arrow Lake	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS	6.17.0-29-generic	`20260505MTL_CLIENT_SILICON-NVR+NN-deployment3b1e1e826d34b0aeea5cc6d75b017eb4cbf5b7353b1e1e826d34b0aeea5cc6d75b017eb4cbf5b7353b1e1e826d3`
Lunar Lake	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS	6.17.0-29-generic	`May 5 2026NPU40xxbuild/ci/npu-fw-ci-ci_branch_UD202620_npu_release_26ww17-20260422_094127-fc285c23e1bf595d6430660503e8616549c01a34-8-g3b1e1e826d3*3b1e1e826d34b0aeea5cc6d75b017eb4cbf5b735`
Panther Lake	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS	6.17.0-29-generic	`May 5 2026NPU50xxbuild/ci/npu-fw-ci-ci_branch_UD202620_npu_release_26ww17-20260422_094127-fc285c23e1bf595d6430660503e8616549c01a34-8-g3b1e1e826d3*3b1e1e826d34b0aeea5cc6d75b017eb4cbf5b735`
Wildcat Lake	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS	6.17.0-29-generic	`May 5 2026NPU50xxbuild/ci/npu-fw-ci-ci_branch_UD202620_npu_release_26ww17-20260422_094127-fc285c23e1bf595d6430660503e8616549c01a34-8-g3b1e1e826d3*3b1e1e826d34b0aeea5cc6d75b017eb4cbf5b735`

🧩 Common Components

The following table lists the common software components and their versions used in this configuration:

Component	Version / Details
Level Zero	v1.27.0
OpenVINO	2026.2
NPU Compiler	npu_ud_2026_20_rc1, built using OpenVINO_rev.e4e180d
GPU Driver	Intel GPU driver from ppa:kobuk-team/intel-graphics

🛠️ Installation Procedure

Remove old packages

sudo dpkg --purge --force-remove-reinstreq intel-driver-compiler-npu intel-fw-npu intel-level-zero-npu intel-level-zero-npu-dbgsym

Download all *.deb package

wget https://github.com/intel/linux-npu-driver/releases/download/v1.33.0/linux-npu-driver-v1.33.0.20260529-26625960453-ubuntu2404.tar.gz
tar -xf linux-npu-driver-v1.33.0.20260529-26625960453-ubuntu2404.tar.gz

Install libtbb12 which is a dependency for intel-driver-compiler-npu

sudo apt update
sudo apt install libtbb12

Install all packages

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

Install libze1 package

wget https://snapshot.ppa.launchpadcontent.net/kobuk-team/intel-graphics/ubuntu/20260324T100000Z/pool/main/l/level-zero-loader/libze1_1.27.0-1~24.04~ppa2_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i libze1_*.deb

⚠️ In case of conflict or error in libze1 installation, remove previously installed Level Zero version:

sudo dpkg --purge --force-remove-reinstreq level-zero level-zero-devel

Optional add your user to render group

sudo gpasswd -a ${USER} render
newgrp render

Optional reboot

sudo reboot
# if everything works, we should see /dev/accel/accel0 device
ls /dev/accel/accel0
/dev/accel/accel0
# to receive intel_vpu state
sudo dmesg

🛡️GPG sign & Verify deb packages

Signing data with a GPG key allows the recipient of the data to check whether any modifications have occurred after the data was signed.

Since release 1.22.0, each Debian package file (.deb file) has been signed with a GPG key, and the signature is included in the archive.

The Public Key has been uploaded to https://keys.openpgp.org/search?q=EA267657A608300C296B8F8AD52C9665A4077678

To verify the signature:

# Download and import the Public Key
curl https://keys.openpgp.org/vks/v1/by-fingerprint/EA267657A608300C296B8F8AD52C9665A4077678 | gpg --import

# Download the driver package
wget https://github.com/intel/linux-npu-driver/releases/download/v1.33.0/linux-npu-driver-v1.33.0.20260529-26625960453-ubuntu2404.tar.gz
tar -xf linux-npu-driver-v1.33.0.20260529-26625960453-ubuntu2404.tar.gz 
# Verify signatures
for PACKAGE in *deb.asc; do gpg --verify $PACKAGE; done

🧪 UMD Test Results

Platform	OS / Kernel	Command	ALL	PASSED	FAILED	SKIPPED
MTL	Ubuntu 24.04 / 6.17.0-29-generic	`npu-umd-test -c none`	261	✅ 169	❌ 0	⚠️ 92
		`sudo npu-umd-test --dma-heap -c none`	4	✅ 4	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`sudo npu-umd-test --dma-heap -c extend.yaml`	5	✅ 5	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`npu-umd-test --ze-init-test -c none`	6	✅ 6	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`npu-umd-test --ze-init-test -c extend.yaml`	6	✅ 6	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`npu-umd-test --gpu -c none`	3	✅ 2	❌ 0	⚠️ 1
		`npu-umd-test --gpu -c extend.yaml`	3	✅ 2	❌ 0	⚠️ 1
		`npu-umd-test -c extend.yaml`	371	✅ 311	❌ 0	⚠️ 60
ARL	Ubuntu 24.04 / 6.17.0-29-generic	`npu-umd-test -c none`	261	✅ 169	❌ 0	⚠️ 92
		`sudo npu-umd-test --dma-heap -c none`	4	✅ 4	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`sudo npu-umd-test --dma-heap -c extend.yaml`	5	✅ 5	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`npu-umd-test --ze-init-test -c none`	6	✅ 6	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`npu-umd-test --ze-init-test -c extend.yaml`	6	✅ 6	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`npu-umd-test --gpu -c none`	3	✅ 2	❌ 0	⚠️ 1
		`npu-umd-test --gpu -c extend.yaml`	3	✅ 2	❌ 0	⚠️ 1
		`npu-umd-test -c extend.yaml`	371	✅ 311	❌ 0	⚠️ 60
LNL	Ubuntu 24.04 / 6.17.0-29-generic	`npu-umd-test -c none`	261	✅ 168	❌ 0	⚠️ 93
		`sudo npu-umd-test --dma-heap -c none`	4	✅ 4	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`sudo npu-umd-test --dma-heap -c extend.yaml`	5	✅ 5	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`npu-umd-test --ze-init-test -c none`	6	✅ 6	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`npu-umd-test --ze-init-test -c extend.yaml`	6	✅ 6	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`npu-umd-test --gpu -c none`	3	✅ 1	❌ 1 Click reasonExternalMemoryZe.NpuZeFillToGpuZeCopy — GPU issue	⚠️ 1
		`npu-umd-test --gpu -c extend.yaml`	3	✅ 1	❌ 1 Click reasonExternalMemoryZe.NpuZeFillToGpuZeCopy — GPU issue	⚠️ 1
		`npu-umd-test -c extend.yaml`	371	✅ 334	❌ 0	⚠️ 37
PTL	Ubuntu 24.04 / 6.17.0-29-generic	`npu-umd-test -c none`	261	✅ 168	❌ 0	⚠️ 93
		`sudo npu-umd-test --dma-heap -c none`	4	✅ 4	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`sudo npu-umd-test --dma-heap -c extend.yaml`	5	✅ 5	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`npu-umd-test --ze-init-test -c none`	6	✅ 6	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`npu-umd-test --ze-init-test -c extend.yaml`	6	✅ 6	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`npu-umd-test --gpu -c none`	3	✅ 1	❌ 1 Click reasonExternalMemoryZe.NpuZeFillToGpuZeCopy — GPU issue	⚠️ 1
		`npu-umd-test --gpu -c extend.yaml`	3	✅ 1	❌ 1 Click reasonExternalMemoryZe.NpuZeFillToGpuZeCopy — GPU issue	⚠️ 1
		`npu-umd-test -c extend.yaml`	371	✅ 334	❌ 0	⚠️ 37
WCL	Ubuntu 24.04 / 6.17.0-29-generic	`npu-umd-test -c none`	261	✅ 168	❌ 0	⚠️ 93
		`sudo npu-umd-test --dma-heap -c none`	4	✅ 4	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`sudo npu-umd-test --dma-heap -c extend.yaml`	5	✅ 5	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`npu-umd-test --ze-init-test -c none`	6	✅ 6	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`npu-umd-test --ze-init-test -c extend.yaml`	6	✅ 6	❌ 0	⚠️ 0
		`npu-umd-test --gpu -c none`	3	✅ 1	❌ 1 Click reasonExternalMemoryZe.NpuZeFillToGpuZeCopy — GPU issue	⚠️ 1
		`npu-umd-test --gpu -c extend.yaml`	3	✅ 1	❌ 1 Click reasonExternalMemoryZe.NpuZeFillToGpuZeCopy — GPU issue	⚠️ 1
		`npu-umd-test -c extend.yaml`	371	✅ 334	❌ 0	⚠️ 37

For the -c option of npu-umd-test, the extend.yaml configuration file was used. It can be obtained from the UMD testing documentation and examples provided in the Intel NPU driver repository (umd-testing.md). The tests were run with the following YAML configuration:

# filename: extend.yaml
model_dir: models/
image_dir: images/

graph_execution:
  - path: add_abc/add_abc.xml
  - path: resnet50.xml
    name: resnet50
    in: [ dog.bmp ]
    class_index: [ 258 ]
  - path: yolov8s.xml
    name: yolov8s

image_classification_imagenet:
  - path: resnet50.xml
    name: resnet50
    in: [ dog.bmp ]
    class_index: [ 258 ]

driver_cache:
  - path: add_abc/add_abc.xml
  - path: resnet50.xml
  - path: yolov8s.xml

multi_inference:
  - name: "ObjectRecognitionPipeline"
    pipeline:
    - path: resnet50.xml
      target_fps: 60
      exec_time_in_secs: 10
    - path: yolov8s.xml
      target_fps: 30
      exec_time_in_secs: 10

🔍 Driver Overview

[!IMPORTANT]
For more information check README.md

Intel NPU Driver v1.33.0

Linux NPU Driver v1.33.0