# GStreamer ML plugin and AI SDK APIs Qualcomm Linux provides [Qualcomm® Intelligent Multimedia SDK (IM SDK) GStreamer plugin APIs](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-80021-50/topic/qim-sdk-plugins.html) to interface with Qualcomm AI Runtime SDK (QAIRT) APIs, to optimally run deep learning models on hardware modules such as neural processing unit (NPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), and central processing unit (CPU). The following software block diagram shows how AI applications can call Qualcomm IM SDK GStreamer Plugin APIs (`qtimlsnpe`, `qtimlqnn`, `qtimltflite`) to interface with and access QAIRT APIs to use a specific hardware accelerator. Page-1 Sheet.1313 Sheet.1218 Hardware Hardware Sheet.1219 AI SDKs AI SDKs Sheet.1220 Qualcomm IMSDK Gstreamer plugins Qualcomm IMSDK Gstreamer plugins Sheet.1221 AI applications AI applications Sheet.1222 Qualcomm® Neural Processing Engine plugin (qtimlsnpe) Qualcomm® Neural Processing Engine plugin (qtimlsnpe) Sheet.1223 Qualcomm AI Runtime SDK Qualcomm AI Runtime SDK Sheet.1224 Qualcomm® AI Engine Direct plugin (qtimlqnn) Qualcomm® AI Engine Direct plugin (qtimlqnn) Sheet.1225 TensorFlow Lite plugin (qtimltflite) TensorFlow Lite plugin (qtimltflite) Sheet.1226 NPU (DSP/HMX/HTP) NPU (DSP/HMX/HTP) Sheet.1227 GPU GPU Sheet.1228 CPU CPU Sheet.1229 Sheet.1230 Sheet.1231 Sheet.1234 Sheet.1235 Sheet.1240 TFLite Delegate TFLite Delegate Sheet.1314 Third-party Third-party Sheet.1315 Hardware Hardware Rectangle.69 Sheet.1320 Qualcomm Qualcomm Rectangle.1321 Rectangle.1322 ## GStreamer Plugin APIs Three GStreamer ML plugin APIs support the QAIRT SDK and TFLite, which provides flexibility for you to choose the right combination for your needs. | [Qualcomm IM SDK plugin for Qualcomm Neural Processing Engine (qtimlsnpe)](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-80021-50/topic/qtimlsnpe.html) | Uses [Qualcomm AI Runtime](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-63442-10/topic/SNPE_general_api.html) APIs to load and execute models.


Choose this plugin for quick prototyping and high-level API support. | | --- | --- | | [Qualcomm IM SDK plugin for Qualcomm AI Engine Direct plugin (qtimlqnn)](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-80021-50/topic/qtimlqnn.html) | Uses [Qualcomm AI Runtime](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-63442-10/topic/general_api.html) APIs, which provide low-level, unified API
and improved performance to optimize and execute network models on the desired hardware accelerator.


Choose this plugin for advanced graph execution options and optimizations. | | [Qualcomm IM SDK plugin for LiteRT (qtimltflite)](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-80021-50/topic/qtimltflite.html) | Accelerates LiteRT models directly using [Qualcomm AI Runtime](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-63442-10/topic/index_QNN.html)
APIs to load and execute models.


Choose this plugin to directly run LiteRT models, without conversion. | ## Qualcomm AI Runtime SDK APIs Use the [QAIRT](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-63442-10/) APIs to develop AI applications. The C, C++, and Java APIs support heterogenous computing, system-level configurations, and direct AI workloads to all accelerator cores. QAIRT provides low-level, highly customizable APIs to target a specific accelerator core or delegate workloads from popular runtimes including the LiteRT and ONNX runtimes. Last Published: Mar 18, 2026 [Previous Topic AI software overview and architecture](https://docs.qualcomm.com/bundle/publicresource/80-80021-15/topics/overview.md) [Next Topic Hardware-accelerated sample applications for AI](https://docs.qualcomm.com/bundle/publicresource/80-80021-15/topics/sample-apps.md)