WebGPU shipped in Chrome 113, which brings high-performance 3D graphics & parallel compute capabilities to the web. I was able to chat with Google Chrome software Engineer Brandon Jones, who is a W3C specification editor for both WebGPU and WebXR Device API. We talk about the history of WebGPU, some his speculations as to how Apple may be actively working on support both WebGPU and WebXR (spec editor Ada Rose Cannon works at Apple), the future of WebXR, the new WebGPU Shading Language (WGSL), nascent ecosystem WebGPU support from Babylon.js and three.js and Play Canvas, and some of the AI and Machine Learning capabilities that will become available on the web, which Jones refers to as the “compatibility layer for the world’s computing devices.” It’ll be open standards like WebGPU, WebXR, glTF, and WebAssembly that start to define what an open and interoperable metaverse might look like, and WebGPU will start to close the gap on bringing the web closer to native performance. Though Jones believes the web will always lag behind trading off performance for more interoperability and cross-compatibility on a broader spectrum of devices.

Here are some links with more information on WebGPU:

Chrome Ships WebGPU
Introducing WebGPU: Unlocking modern GPU access for JavaScript from Google I/O featuring Jones
WebGPU Samples
Andy McClure’s Co-Host post on WebGPU history: “I want to talk about WebGPU”
Compute.toys WebGPU and WGSL examples in the vein of Shadertoy