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arXiv · 2103.09301

Softermax: Hardware/Software Co-Design of an Efficient Softmax for Transformers

Jacob R. Stevens·Rangharajan Venkatesan·Steve Dai·Brucek Khailany·Anand Raghunathan
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Abstract

Transformers have transformed the field of natural language processing. This performance is largely attributed to the use of stacked self-attention layers, each of which consists of matrix multiplies as well as softmax operations. As a result, unlike other neural networks, the softmax operation accounts for a significant fraction of the total run-time of Transformers. To address this, we propose Softermax, a hardware-friendly softmax design. Softermax consists of base replacement, low-precision softmax computations, and an online normalization calculation. We show Softermax results in 2.35x the energy efficiency at 0.90x the size of a comparable baseline, with negligible impact on network accuracy.

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Jacob R. Stevens, Rangharajan Venkatesan, Steve Dai, Brucek Khailany, Anand Raghunathan. 2021-03-16. Softermax: Hardware/Software Co-Design of an Efficient Softmax for Transformers. https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.09301

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