diff --git a/ggml/src/ggml-backend-impl.h b/ggml/src/ggml-backend-impl.h
index c36c12d657..2db5c4e0f8 100644
--- a/ggml/src/ggml-backend-impl.h
+++ b/ggml/src/ggml-backend-impl.h
@@ -114,6 +114,9 @@ extern "C" {
         void (*event_record)(ggml_backend_t backend, ggml_backend_event_t event);
         // wait for an event on on a different stream
         void (*event_wait)  (ggml_backend_t backend, ggml_backend_event_t event);
+
+        // (optional) sort/optimize the nodes in the graph
+        void                      (*optimize_graph)    (ggml_backend_t backend, struct ggml_cgraph * cgraph);
     };
 
     struct ggml_backend {
diff --git a/ggml/src/ggml-backend.cpp b/ggml/src/ggml-backend.cpp
index f615ab4bee..7646f3f134 100644
--- a/ggml/src/ggml-backend.cpp
+++ b/ggml/src/ggml-backend.cpp
@@ -463,6 +463,13 @@ void ggml_backend_event_wait(ggml_backend_t backend, ggml_backend_event_t event)
     backend->iface.event_wait(backend, event);
 }
 
+static void ggml_backend_optimize_graph(ggml_backend_t backend, struct ggml_cgraph * cgraph) {
+    GGML_ASSERT(backend);
+    if (backend->iface.optimize_graph != NULL) {
+        backend->iface.optimize_graph(backend, cgraph);
+    }
+}
+
 // Backend device
 
 const char * ggml_backend_dev_name(ggml_backend_dev_t device) {
@@ -1298,6 +1305,10 @@ void ggml_backend_sched_split_graph(ggml_backend_sched_t sched, struct ggml_cgra
         struct ggml_backend_sched_split * split = &sched->splits[i];
         split->graph = ggml_graph_view(graph, split->i_start, split->i_end);
 
+        // Optimize this split of the graph. This needs to happen before we make graph_copy,
+        // so they are in sync.
+        ggml_backend_optimize_graph(sched->backends[split->backend_id], &split->graph);
+
         // add inputs to the graph copy so that they are allocated by ggml-alloc at the start of the split
         for (int j = 0; j < split->n_inputs; j++) {
             assert(graph_copy->size > (graph_copy->n_nodes + 1));
diff --git a/ggml/src/ggml-blas/ggml-blas.cpp b/ggml/src/ggml-blas/ggml-blas.cpp
index aeac2e5744..cdfc5a9bc2 100644
--- a/ggml/src/ggml-blas/ggml-blas.cpp
+++ b/ggml/src/ggml-blas/ggml-blas.cpp
@@ -270,6 +270,7 @@ static struct ggml_backend_i blas_backend_i = {
     /* .graph_compute           = */ ggml_backend_blas_graph_compute,
     /* .event_record            = */ NULL,
     /* .event_wait              = */ NULL,
+    /* .optimize_graph          = */ NULL,
 };
 
 static ggml_guid_t ggml_backend_blas_guid(void) {
diff --git a/ggml/src/ggml-cann/ggml-cann.cpp b/ggml/src/ggml-cann/ggml-cann.cpp
index 2f9f373f54..2e47ad90af 100755
--- a/ggml/src/ggml-cann/ggml-cann.cpp
+++ b/ggml/src/ggml-cann/ggml-cann.cpp
@@ -2690,6 +2690,7 @@ static const ggml_backend_i ggml_backend_cann_interface = {
     /* .graph_compute           = */ ggml_backend_cann_graph_compute,
     /* .event_record            = */ ggml_backend_cann_event_record,
     /* .event_wait              = */ ggml_backend_cann_event_wait,
+    /* .optimize_graph          = */ NULL,
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/ggml/src/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.cpp b/ggml/src/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.cpp
index 0c15165f1b..2b81f8b9af 100644
--- a/ggml/src/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.cpp
+++ b/ggml/src/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.cpp
@@ -190,6 +190,7 @@ static const struct ggml_backend_i ggml_backend_cpu_i = {
     /* .graph_compute           = */ ggml_backend_cpu_graph_compute,
     /* .event_record            = */ NULL,
     /* .event_wait              = */ NULL,
+    /* .optimize_graph          = */ NULL,
 };
 
 static ggml_guid_t ggml_backend_cpu_guid(void) {
diff --git a/ggml/src/ggml-cuda/ggml-cuda.cu b/ggml/src/ggml-cuda/ggml-cuda.cu
index 0c6bd36396..efca2c775a 100644
--- a/ggml/src/ggml-cuda/ggml-cuda.cu
+++ b/ggml/src/ggml-cuda/ggml-cuda.cu
@@ -3135,6 +3135,7 @@ static const ggml_backend_i ggml_backend_cuda_interface = {
     /* .graph_compute           = */ ggml_backend_cuda_graph_compute,
     /* .event_record            = */ ggml_backend_cuda_event_record,
     /* .event_wait              = */ ggml_backend_cuda_event_wait,
+    /* .optimize_graph          = */ NULL,
 };
 
 static ggml_guid_t ggml_backend_cuda_guid() {
diff --git a/ggml/src/ggml-metal/ggml-metal.m b/ggml/src/ggml-metal/ggml-metal.m
index eeb6c9d4b7..e76fb71263 100644
--- a/ggml/src/ggml-metal/ggml-metal.m
+++ b/ggml/src/ggml-metal/ggml-metal.m
@@ -6275,6 +6275,7 @@ static struct ggml_backend_i ggml_backend_metal_i = {
     /* .graph_compute           = */ ggml_backend_metal_graph_compute,
     /* .event_record            = */ NULL,
     /* .event_wait              = */ NULL,
+    /* .optimize_graph          = */ NULL,
 };
 
 static ggml_guid_t ggml_backend_metal_guid(void) {
diff --git a/ggml/src/ggml-opencl/ggml-opencl.cpp b/ggml/src/ggml-opencl/ggml-opencl.cpp
index 727163b7fd..b188c5af34 100644
--- a/ggml/src/ggml-opencl/ggml-opencl.cpp
+++ b/ggml/src/ggml-opencl/ggml-opencl.cpp
@@ -2838,6 +2838,7 @@ static ggml_backend_i ggml_backend_opencl_i = {
     /* .graph_compute           = */ ggml_backend_opencl_graph_compute,
     /* .event_record            = */ NULL,
     /* .event_wait              = */ NULL,
+    /* .optimize_graph          = */ NULL,
 };
 
 ggml_backend_t ggml_backend_opencl_init(void) {
diff --git a/ggml/src/ggml-rpc/ggml-rpc.cpp b/ggml/src/ggml-rpc/ggml-rpc.cpp
index e84ff93efc..d4833068d0 100644
--- a/ggml/src/ggml-rpc/ggml-rpc.cpp
+++ b/ggml/src/ggml-rpc/ggml-rpc.cpp
@@ -795,6 +795,7 @@ static ggml_backend_i ggml_backend_rpc_interface = {
     /* .graph_compute           = */ ggml_backend_rpc_graph_compute,
     /* .event_record            = */ NULL,
     /* .event_wait              = */ NULL,
+    /* .optimize_graph          = */ NULL,
 };
 
 ggml_backend_buffer_type_t ggml_backend_rpc_buffer_type(const char * endpoint) {
diff --git a/ggml/src/ggml-sycl/ggml-sycl.cpp b/ggml/src/ggml-sycl/ggml-sycl.cpp
index 877fbf7e86..619ccaefc0 100644
--- a/ggml/src/ggml-sycl/ggml-sycl.cpp
+++ b/ggml/src/ggml-sycl/ggml-sycl.cpp
@@ -4063,6 +4063,7 @@ static ggml_backend_i ggml_backend_sycl_interface = {
     /* .graph_compute           = */ ggml_backend_sycl_graph_compute,
     /* .event_record            = */ ggml_backend_sycl_event_record,
     /* .event_wait              = */ ggml_backend_sycl_event_wait,
+    /* .optimize_graph          = */ NULL,
 };
 
 static ggml_guid_t ggml_backend_sycl_guid() {
diff --git a/ggml/src/ggml-vulkan/ggml-vulkan.cpp b/ggml/src/ggml-vulkan/ggml-vulkan.cpp
index e6245d0cfc..f0fa9e668c 100644
--- a/ggml/src/ggml-vulkan/ggml-vulkan.cpp
+++ b/ggml/src/ggml-vulkan/ggml-vulkan.cpp
@@ -583,6 +583,7 @@ struct vk_device_struct {
     bool disable_fusion;
     bool disable_host_visible_vidmem;
     bool allow_sysmem_fallback;
+    bool disable_optimize_graph;
 
 #ifdef GGML_VULKAN_MEMORY_DEBUG
     std::unique_ptr<vk_memory_logger> memory_logger;
@@ -3592,6 +3593,9 @@ static vk_device ggml_vk_get_device(size_t idx) {
         const char* GGML_VK_ALLOW_SYSMEM_FALLBACK = getenv("GGML_VK_ALLOW_SYSMEM_FALLBACK");
         device->allow_sysmem_fallback = GGML_VK_ALLOW_SYSMEM_FALLBACK != nullptr;
 
+        const char* GGML_VK_DISABLE_OPTIMIZE_GRAPH = getenv("GGML_VK_DISABLE_OPTIMIZE_GRAPH");
+        device->disable_optimize_graph = GGML_VK_DISABLE_OPTIMIZE_GRAPH != nullptr;
+
         bool fp16_storage = false;
         bool fp16_compute = false;
         bool maintenance4_support = false;
@@ -11853,6 +11857,131 @@ static ggml_status ggml_backend_vk_graph_compute(ggml_backend_t backend, ggml_cg
     UNUSED(backend);
 }
 
+// Sort the graph for improved parallelism.
+static void ggml_vk_optimize_graph(ggml_backend_t backend, struct ggml_cgraph * graph)
+{
+    VK_LOG_DEBUG("ggml_vk_optimize_graph(" << graph->n_nodes << " nodes)");
+    ggml_backend_vk_context * ctx = (ggml_backend_vk_context *)backend->context;
+
+    if (ctx->device->disable_optimize_graph) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    auto const &is_empty = [](ggml_tensor * node) -> bool {
+        return node->op == GGML_OP_NONE || node->op == GGML_OP_RESHAPE || node->op == GGML_OP_TRANSPOSE || node->op == GGML_OP_VIEW || node->op == GGML_OP_PERMUTE;
+    };
+
+    auto const &is_src_of = [](const ggml_tensor *dst, const ggml_tensor *src) -> bool {
+        for (uint32_t s = 0; s < GGML_MAX_SRC; ++s) {
+            if (dst->src[s] == src) {
+                return true;
+            }
+        }
+        // implicit dependency if they view the same tensor
+        const ggml_tensor *dst2 = dst->view_src ? dst->view_src : dst;
+        const ggml_tensor *src2 = src->view_src ? src->view_src : src;
+        if (dst2 == src2) {
+            return true;
+        }
+        return false;
+    };
+
+    // This function tries to reorder the graph to allow nodes to run in parallel.
+    // This helps with small batches, but for large batches its a slowdown, probably
+    // due to cache contention. So only reorder if the majority of nodes have few rows.
+    int num_small_nodes = 0;
+    int num_counted_nodes = 0;
+    for (int i = 0; i < graph->n_nodes; ++i) {
+        if (!is_empty(graph->nodes[i]) &&
+            graph->nodes[i]->op != GGML_OP_SET_ROWS) {
+            if (ggml_nrows(graph->nodes[i]) <= 8) {
+                num_small_nodes++;
+            }
+            num_counted_nodes++;
+        }
+    }
+    if (num_small_nodes < num_counted_nodes / 2) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    std::vector<ggml_tensor *> new_order;
+    std::vector<bool> used(graph->n_nodes, false);
+    int first_unused = 0;
+    while (first_unused < graph->n_nodes) {
+        std::vector<int> current_set;
+
+        // First, grab the next unused node.
+        current_set.push_back(first_unused);
+
+        // Loop through the next N nodes. Grab any that don't depend on other nodes that
+        // haven't already been run. Nodes that have already been run have used[i] set
+        // to true. Allow nodes that depend on the previous node if it's a fusion pattern
+        // that we support (e.g. RMS_NORM + MUL).
+        // This first pass only grabs "real" (non-view nodes). Second pass grabs view nodes.
+        // The goal is to not interleave real and view nodes in a way that breaks fusion.
+        const int NUM_TO_CHECK = 20;
+        for (int j = first_unused+1; j < std::min(first_unused + NUM_TO_CHECK, graph->n_nodes); ++j) {
+            if (used[j]) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            if (is_empty(graph->nodes[j])) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            bool ok = true;
+            for (int c = first_unused; c < j; ++c) {
+                if (!used[c] &&
+                    is_src_of(graph->nodes[j], graph->nodes[c]) &&
+                    !(j == c+1 && c == current_set.back() && graph->nodes[c]->op == GGML_OP_RMS_NORM && graph->nodes[j]->op == GGML_OP_MUL)) {
+                    ok = false;
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+            if (ok) {
+                current_set.push_back(j);
+            }
+        }
+        // Second pass grabs view nodes.
+        // Skip this if it would break a fusion optimization (don't split up add->rms_norm or add->add).
+        if (graph->nodes[current_set.back()]->op != GGML_OP_ADD) {
+            for (int j = first_unused+1; j < std::min(first_unused + NUM_TO_CHECK, graph->n_nodes); ++j) {
+                if (used[j]) {
+                    continue;
+                }
+                if (!is_empty(graph->nodes[j])) {
+                    continue;
+                }
+                bool ok = true;
+                for (int c = first_unused; c < j; ++c) {
+                    bool c_in_current_set = std::find(current_set.begin(), current_set.end(), c) != current_set.end();
+                    // skip views whose srcs haven't been processed.
+                    if (!used[c] &&
+                        is_src_of(graph->nodes[j], graph->nodes[c]) &&
+                        !c_in_current_set) {
+                        ok = false;
+                        break;
+                    }
+                }
+                if (ok) {
+                    current_set.push_back(j);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Push the current set into new_order
+        for (auto c : current_set) {
+            new_order.push_back(graph->nodes[c]);
+            used[c] = true;
+        }
+        while (first_unused < graph->n_nodes && used[first_unused]) {
+            first_unused++;
+        }
+    }
+    // Replace the graph with the new order.
+    for (int i = 0; i < graph->n_nodes; ++i) {
+        graph->nodes[i] = new_order[i];
+    }
+}
+
 // TODO: enable async and synchronize
 static ggml_backend_i ggml_backend_vk_interface = {
     /* .get_name                = */ ggml_backend_vk_name,
@@ -11868,6 +11997,7 @@ static ggml_backend_i ggml_backend_vk_interface = {
     /* .graph_compute           = */ ggml_backend_vk_graph_compute,
     /* .event_record            = */ NULL,
     /* .event_wait              = */ NULL,
+    /* .optimize_graph          = */ ggml_vk_optimize_graph,
 };
 
 static ggml_guid_t ggml_backend_vk_guid() {
diff --git a/ggml/src/ggml-webgpu/ggml-webgpu.cpp b/ggml/src/ggml-webgpu/ggml-webgpu.cpp
index aad27bf605..df6a3ed95a 100644
--- a/ggml/src/ggml-webgpu/ggml-webgpu.cpp
+++ b/ggml/src/ggml-webgpu/ggml-webgpu.cpp
@@ -665,6 +665,7 @@ static ggml_backend_i ggml_backend_webgpu_i = {
     /* .graph_compute           = */ ggml_backend_webgpu_graph_compute,
     /* .event_record            = */ NULL,
     /* .event_wait              = */ NULL,
+    /* .optimize_graph          = */ NULL,
 };
 
 /* End GGML Backend Interface */
diff --git a/ggml/src/ggml-zdnn/ggml-zdnn.cpp b/ggml/src/ggml-zdnn/ggml-zdnn.cpp
index 7507a52aea..a4c51ab4e7 100644
--- a/ggml/src/ggml-zdnn/ggml-zdnn.cpp
+++ b/ggml/src/ggml-zdnn/ggml-zdnn.cpp
@@ -586,6 +586,7 @@ static ggml_backend_i ggml_backend_zdnn_i = {
     /* .graph_compute      = */ ggml_backend_zdnn_graph_compute,
     /* .event_record       = */ NULL,
     /* .event_wait         = */ NULL,
+    /* .optimize_graph     = */ NULL,
 };
 
 static ggml_guid_t ggml_backend_zdnn_guid(void) {