Tiny Corp announced on April 1, 2026, that Apple approved their TinyGPU driver, enabling both AMD and NVIDIA eGPUs to work with ARM-based Macs. The driver brings GPU expansion capabilities back to Apple Silicon devices, which lost official eGPU support when Apple transitioned away from Intel processors.
Driver Supports Nvidia RTX 30, 40, and 50 Series Plus AMD Radeon Cards
The TinyGPU driver works over Thunderbolt and USB4 connections using external docking stations like the ADT-UT3G dock. It specifically targets AI and machine learning workloads rather than gaming or display output. Performance testing showed a Mac mini M4 paired with an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX achieving 18.5 tokens per second running Qwen 3.5 27B. Installation requires disabling System Integrity Protection (SIP) and installing the driver through tinygrad.
Extended USB Support Enables GPU Power for Phones and Single-Board Computers
On April 4, 2026, Tiny Corp revealed that their eGPUs also support USB3 (741 MB/s) and USB2 connections, extending GPU capabilities to devices like smartphones and single-board computers. The company wrote custom firmware for the ASM2464PD bridge chip without register documentation, relying on "painful trial and error" and assistance from large language models.
Third-Party Solution Fills Gap Left by Apple's Unified Memory Architecture
Apple discontinued official eGPU support when switching to Apple Silicon due to the unified memory architecture in M-series chips. George Hotz of Tiny Corp emphasized that "Local AI will never win because of ideology, in order for it to win, it must be more convenient than cloud." The driver provides developers needing more GPU compute than M-series chips offer with a practical expansion option. The Hacker News discussion generated 352 points and 157 comments, with developers expressing enthusiasm about running local LLMs with desktop GPU power while maintaining Mac portability.
Key Takeaways
- Tiny Corp's TinyGPU driver enables Nvidia RTX 30/40/50 series and AMD Radeon eGPUs on Apple Silicon Macs via Thunderbolt and USB4
- A Mac mini M4 with Radeon RX 7900 XTX achieved 18.5 tokens/second running Qwen 3.5 27B in testing
- The driver supports USB3 (741 MB/s) and USB2, enabling GPU expansion for smartphones and single-board computers
- Installation requires disabling System Integrity Protection and targets AI/ML workloads, not gaming or display output
- The solution fills the gap left when Apple dropped official eGPU support during the transition to Apple Silicon