diff --git a/regression-tests b/regression-tests
index 71b0506a..658cf86e 160000
--- a/regression-tests
+++ b/regression-tests
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit 71b0506a50e1f181e269fe90073a8ae470676dd1
+Subproject commit 658cf86e2ab4aa76b4ab3edabd750b93d2416f1a
diff --git a/src/3rd_party/avx_mathfun.h b/src/3rd_party/avx_mathfun.h
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index 26b3132a..9d1403b4
--- a/src/3rd_party/avx_mathfun.h
+++ b/src/3rd_party/avx_mathfun.h
@@ -32,8 +32,13 @@
 #include <immintrin.h>
 
 /* yes I know, the top of this file is quite ugly */
+#ifdef _MSC_VER
+# define ALIGN32_BEG __declspec(align(32))
+# define ALIGN32_END 
+#else /* gcc or icc */
 # define ALIGN32_BEG
 # define ALIGN32_END __attribute__((aligned(32)))
+#endif
 
 /* __m128 is ugly to write */
 typedef __m256  v8sf; // vector of 8 float (avx)
@@ -94,17 +99,17 @@ typedef union imm_xmm_union {
   v4si xmm[2];
 } imm_xmm_union;
 
-#define COPY_IMM_TO_XMM(imm_, xmm0_, xmm1_) {    \
-    imm_xmm_union u __attribute__((aligned(32)));  \
-    u.imm = imm_;				   \
-    xmm0_ = u.xmm[0];                            \
-    xmm1_ = u.xmm[1];                            \
+#define COPY_IMM_TO_XMM(imm_, xmm0_, xmm1_) { \
+    ALIGN32_BEG imm_xmm_union u ALIGN32_END;  \
+    u.imm = imm_;                             \
+    xmm0_ = u.xmm[0];                         \
+    xmm1_ = u.xmm[1];                         \
 }
 
-#define COPY_XMM_TO_IMM(xmm0_, xmm1_, imm_) {                       \
-    imm_xmm_union u __attribute__((aligned(32))); \
+#define COPY_XMM_TO_IMM(xmm0_, xmm1_, imm_) {     \
+    ALIGN32_BEG imm_xmm_union u ALIGN32_END;      \
     u.xmm[0]=xmm0_; u.xmm[1]=xmm1_; imm_ = u.imm; \
-  }
+}
 
 
 #define AVX2_BITOP_USING_SSE2(fn) \
diff --git a/src/3rd_party/half_float/umHalf.h b/src/3rd_party/half_float/umHalf.h
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index 4c065c02..361dbdaa
--- a/src/3rd_party/half_float/umHalf.h
+++ b/src/3rd_party/half_float/umHalf.h
@@ -44,11 +44,11 @@ OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
 #include <limits>
 #include <algorithm>
 
-#ifdef _MSC_VER
-#include "stdint.h"
-#else
+//#ifdef _MSC_VER
+//#include "stdint.h"
+//#else
 #include <stdint.h>
-#endif
+//#endif
 
 #undef min
 #undef max
diff --git a/src/3rd_party/nccl b/src/3rd_party/nccl
index 8e3a3f7c..d6297d25 160000
--- a/src/3rd_party/nccl
+++ b/src/3rd_party/nccl
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit 8e3a3f7c5b520babff49cec54a866fa3eda3a3b6
+Subproject commit d6297d250433715c283d17f1969cfcb50d2b6531
diff --git a/vs/Marian.vcxproj b/vs/Marian.vcxproj
index 0de76f65..91590160 100755
--- a/vs/Marian.vcxproj
+++ b/vs/Marian.vcxproj
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
   <PropertyGroup Condition="'$(Configuration)|$(Platform)'=='Debug|x64'">
     <LinkIncremental>true</LinkIncremental>
     <IntDir>$(SolutionDir)$(Platform)\$(Configuration)\Marian\</IntDir>
-    <IncludePath>%CUDA_PATH%\include;..\src;..\src\3rd_party;%BOOST_INCLUDE_PATH%;%ZLIB_PATH%\include;%MKL_PATH%\include;$(VC_IncludePath);$(WindowsSDK_IncludePath);</IncludePath>
+    <IncludePath>..\src\3rd_party\fbgemm\third_party\cpuinfo\deps\clog\include;..\src\3rd_party\fbgemm\third_party\cpuinfo\src;..\src\3rd_party\fbgemm\third_party\cpuinfo\include;..\src\3rd_party\fbgemm\third_party\asmjit\src;%MKL_PATH%\include;..\src\3rd_party\fbgemm\include;%CUDA_PATH%\include;..\src;..\src\3rd_party;%BOOST_INCLUDE_PATH%;%ZLIB_PATH%\include;$(VC_IncludePath);$(WindowsSDK_IncludePath);</IncludePath>
     <LibraryPath>%CUDA_PATH%\lib\x64;%BOOST_LIB_PATH%;%ZLIB_PATH%\lib;%MKL_PATH%\lib\intel64;$(VC_LibraryPath_x64);$(WindowsSDK_LibraryPath_x64);$(NETFXKitsDir)Lib\um\x64</LibraryPath>
   </PropertyGroup>
   <PropertyGroup Condition="'$(Configuration)|$(Platform)'=='Release|x64'">
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@
       </PrecompiledHeader>
       <WarningLevel>Level4</WarningLevel>
       <Optimization>Disabled</Optimization>
-      <PreprocessorDefinitions>FBGEMM_EXPORTS;USE_FBGEMM=1;ASMJIT_VARAPI;CUDA_FOUND=1; MKL_FOUND=1; MPI_FOUND=1; BLAS_FOUND=1; MKL_ILP64; WIN32;_DEBUG;_CONSOLE;_LIB;%(PreprocessorDefinitions)</PreprocessorDefinitions>
+      <PreprocessorDefinitions>FBGEMM_EXPORTS; USE_FBGEMM=1; ASMJIT_VARAPI; USE_SSE2=1; CUDA_FOUND=1; MKL_FOUND=1; MPI_FOUND=1; BLAS_FOUND=1; MKL_ILP64; WIN32;_DEBUG;_CONSOLE;_LIB;%(PreprocessorDefinitions)</PreprocessorDefinitions>
       <SDLCheck>false</SDLCheck>
       <TreatWarningAsError>true</TreatWarningAsError>
       <AdditionalOptions>/bigobj %(AdditionalOptions) /arch:AVX2</AdditionalOptions>
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@
       <Optimization>MaxSpeed</Optimization>
       <FunctionLevelLinking>true</FunctionLevelLinking>
       <IntrinsicFunctions>true</IntrinsicFunctions>
-      <PreprocessorDefinitions>FBGEMM_EXPORTS;USE_FBGEMM=1;CUDA_FOUND=1; MKL_FOUND=1; MPI_FOUND=1; BLAS_FOUND=1; MKL_ILP64; WIN32;NDEBUG;_CONSOLE;_LIB;%(PreprocessorDefinitions)</PreprocessorDefinitions>
+      <PreprocessorDefinitions>FBGEMM_EXPORTS; USE_FBGEMM=1; USE_SSE2=1; CUDA_FOUND=1; MKL_FOUND=1; MPI_FOUND=1; BLAS_FOUND=1; MKL_ILP64; WIN32;NDEBUG;_CONSOLE;_LIB;%(PreprocessorDefinitions)</PreprocessorDefinitions>
       <SDLCheck>false</SDLCheck>
       <FavorSizeOrSpeed>Speed</FavorSizeOrSpeed>
       <AdditionalOptions>/d2Zi+ /bigobj %(AdditionalOptions) /arch:AVX2</AdditionalOptions>
@@ -426,6 +426,7 @@
       <TreatWarningAsError Condition="'$(Configuration)|$(Platform)'=='Release|x64'">false</TreatWarningAsError>
       <TreatWarningAsError Condition="'$(Configuration)|$(Platform)'=='Debug|x64'">false</TreatWarningAsError>
     </ClCompile>
+    <ClCompile Include="..\src\3rd_party\half_float\HalfPrecisionFloatTest.cpp" />
     <ClCompile Include="..\src\3rd_party\pathie-cpp\src\entry_iterator.cpp" />
     <ClCompile Include="..\src\3rd_party\pathie-cpp\src\errors.cpp" />
     <ClCompile Include="..\src\3rd_party\pathie-cpp\src\path.cpp" />
@@ -635,6 +636,8 @@
     </ClCompile>
     <ClCompile Include="..\src\3rd_party\yaml-cpp\binary_renamed.cpp" />
     <ClCompile Include="..\src\3rd_party\yaml-cpp\yaml-node.cpp" />
+    <ClInclude Include="..\src\3rd_party\any_type.h" />
+    <ClInclude Include="..\src\3rd_party\avx_mathfun.h" />
     <ClInclude Include="..\src\3rd_party\ExceptionWithCallStack.h" />
     <ClInclude Include="..\src\3rd_party\fbgemm\include\fbgemm\ConvUtils.h" />
     <ClInclude Include="..\src\3rd_party\fbgemm\include\fbgemm\Fbgemm.h" />
@@ -709,6 +712,8 @@
     <ClInclude Include="..\src\3rd_party\fbgemm\third_party\cpuinfo\src\x86\api.h" />
     <ClInclude Include="..\src\3rd_party\fbgemm\third_party\cpuinfo\src\x86\cpuid.h" />
     <ClInclude Include="..\src\3rd_party\fbgemm\third_party\cpuinfo\src\x86\windows\api.h" />
+    <ClInclude Include="..\src\3rd_party\half_float\stdint.h" />
+    <ClInclude Include="..\src\3rd_party\half_float\umHalf.h" />
     <ClInclude Include="..\src\3rd_party\nccl\src\collectives\collectives.h">
       <ExcludedFromBuild Condition="'$(Configuration)|$(Platform)'=='Release|x64'">true</ExcludedFromBuild>
     </ClInclude>
@@ -906,6 +911,7 @@
       <ExcludedFromBuild Condition="'$(Configuration)|$(Platform)'=='Debug|x64'">true</ExcludedFromBuild>
       <ExcludedFromBuild Condition="'$(Configuration)|$(Platform)'=='Release|x64'">true</ExcludedFromBuild>
     </ClInclude>
+    <ClInclude Include="..\src\3rd_party\sse_mathfun.h" />
     <ClInclude Include="..\src\command\marian_decoder.cpp">
       <ExcludedFromBuild Condition="'$(Configuration)|$(Platform)'=='Debug|x64'">true</ExcludedFromBuild>
       <ExcludedFromBuild Condition="'$(Configuration)|$(Platform)'=='Release|x64'">true</ExcludedFromBuild>
@@ -1100,6 +1106,8 @@
     <ClInclude Include="..\src\examples\mnist\model_lenet.h" />
     <ClInclude Include="..\src\examples\mnist\training.h" />
     <ClInclude Include="..\src\examples\mnist\validator.h" />
+    <ClInclude Include="..\src\functional\approx.h" />
+    <ClInclude Include="..\src\functional\operators.h" />
     <ClInclude Include="..\src\layers\loss.h" />
     <ClInclude Include="..\src\layers\weight.h" />
     <ClInclude Include="..\src\marian.h" />
@@ -1369,6 +1377,8 @@
     <ClInclude Include="..\src\training\communicator_nccl.h" />
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
+    <None Include="..\src\3rd_party\half_float\Readme.md" />
+    <None Include="..\src\3rd_party\half_float\umHalf.inl" />
     <None Include="..\src\3rd_party\nccl\src\bootstrap.cu">
       <ExcludedFromBuild Condition="'$(Configuration)|$(Platform)'=='Release|x64'">true</ExcludedFromBuild>
     </None>
diff --git a/vs/Marian.vcxproj.filters b/vs/Marian.vcxproj.filters
index f905636a..5ef68d74 100755
--- a/vs/Marian.vcxproj.filters
+++ b/vs/Marian.vcxproj.filters
@@ -712,6 +712,9 @@
     <ClCompile Include="..\src\common\aliases.cpp">
       <Filter>common</Filter>
     </ClCompile>
+    <ClCompile Include="..\src\3rd_party\half_float\HalfPrecisionFloatTest.cpp">
+      <Filter>3rd_party\half_float</Filter>
+    </ClCompile>
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
     <ClInclude Include="..\src\marian.h" />
@@ -2002,6 +2005,27 @@
     <ClInclude Include="..\src\3rd_party\fbgemm\third_party\cpuinfo\deps\clog\include\clog.h">
       <Filter>3rd_party\fbgemm\third_party\cpuinfo\deps\clog\include</Filter>
     </ClInclude>
+    <ClInclude Include="..\src\3rd_party\half_float\stdint.h">
+      <Filter>3rd_party\half_float</Filter>
+    </ClInclude>
+    <ClInclude Include="..\src\3rd_party\half_float\umHalf.h">
+      <Filter>3rd_party\half_float</Filter>
+    </ClInclude>
+    <ClInclude Include="..\src\3rd_party\any_type.h">
+      <Filter>3rd_party</Filter>
+    </ClInclude>
+    <ClInclude Include="..\src\3rd_party\avx_mathfun.h">
+      <Filter>3rd_party</Filter>
+    </ClInclude>
+    <ClInclude Include="..\src\3rd_party\sse_mathfun.h">
+      <Filter>3rd_party</Filter>
+    </ClInclude>
+    <ClInclude Include="..\src\functional\approx.h">
+      <Filter>functional</Filter>
+    </ClInclude>
+    <ClInclude Include="..\src\functional\operators.h">
+      <Filter>functional</Filter>
+    </ClInclude>
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
     <Filter Include="3rd_party">
@@ -2232,6 +2256,9 @@
     <Filter Include="3rd_party\fbgemm\third_party\cpuinfo\deps\clog\src">
       <UniqueIdentifier>{8fd74b1e-d3c1-4158-ad46-4a447222934e}</UniqueIdentifier>
     </Filter>
+    <Filter Include="3rd_party\half_float">
+      <UniqueIdentifier>{defd3aec-3c56-4d70-a4bb-90ba9003d98d}</UniqueIdentifier>
+    </Filter>
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
     <None Include="..\src\3rd_party\nccl\src\bootstrap.cu">
@@ -2354,6 +2381,12 @@
     <None Include="..\src\examples\README.md">
       <Filter>examples</Filter>
     </None>
+    <None Include="..\src\3rd_party\half_float\Readme.md">
+      <Filter>3rd_party\half_float</Filter>
+    </None>
+    <None Include="..\src\3rd_party\half_float\umHalf.inl">
+      <Filter>3rd_party\half_float</Filter>
+    </None>
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
     <Text Include="..\src\3rd_party\sentencepiece\src\CMakeLists.txt">