GENERAL PUB_DATE: 2026.W01

SPECULATIVE DECODING: 3X FASTER LLM SERVING WITH A DRAFT-AND-VERIFY PATH

Speculative decoding runs a small draft model to propose tokens and uses the main model to verify them, keeping outputs identical to baseline while cutting late...

Speculative decoding runs a small draft model to propose tokens and uses the main model to verify them, keeping outputs identical to baseline while cutting latency. Expect up to ~3x speedups when the draft model’s proposals have high acceptance; tune draft size and propose steps to hit the sweet spot.

[ WHY_IT_MATTERS ]
01.

Reduces p95 latency and infra cost for AI endpoints without changing output quality.

02.

Improves throughput under load, enabling higher QPS or smaller fleets.

[ WHAT_TO_TEST ]
  • terminal

    A/B enable speculative decoding and measure acceptance rate, tokens/sec, p95 latency, and exact output diffs against baseline.

  • terminal

    Sweep draft model size and max-propose steps to maximize acceptance and minimize cost while preserving determinism and streaming behavior.

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