diff --git a/nac3artiq/demo/embedding_map.py b/nac3artiq/demo/embedding_map.py
index a43af69..d7f909f 100644
--- a/nac3artiq/demo/embedding_map.py
+++ b/nac3artiq/demo/embedding_map.py
@@ -5,12 +5,17 @@ class EmbeddingMap:
         self.string_map = {}
         self.string_reverse_map = {}
         self.function_map = {}
+        self.subkernel_map = {}
         self.attributes_writeback = []
 
     def store_function(self, key, fun):
         self.function_map[key] = fun
         return key
 
+    def store_subkernel(self, key, fun):
+        self.subkernel_map[key] = fun
+        return key
+
     def store_object(self, obj):
         obj_id = id(obj)
         if obj_id in self.object_inverse_map:
@@ -37,3 +42,5 @@ class EmbeddingMap:
     def retrieve_str(self, key):
         return self.string_map[key]
 
+    def subkernels(self):
+        return self.subkernel_map
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/nac3artiq/demo/min_artiq.py b/nac3artiq/demo/min_artiq.py
index 62d32cc..e4e5d8a 100644
--- a/nac3artiq/demo/min_artiq.py
+++ b/nac3artiq/demo/min_artiq.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ __all__ = [
     "Kernel", "KernelInvariant", "virtual", "ConstGeneric",
     "Option", "Some", "none", "UnwrapNoneError",
     "round64", "floor64", "ceil64",
-    "extern", "kernel", "portable", "nac3",
+    "extern", "kernel", "subkernel", "portable", "nac3",
     "rpc", "ms", "us", "ns",
     "print_int32", "print_int64",
     "Core", "TTLOut",
@@ -137,6 +137,14 @@ def kernel(function_or_method):
             raise RuntimeError("Kernel functions need explicit core.run()")
     return run_on_core
 
+def subkernel(function_or_method, destination):
+    assert 0 < destination < 255
+    register_function(function_or_method)
+    @wraps(function_or_method)
+    def run_on_core(*args, **kwargs):
+        raise RuntimeError("Subkernels cannot be called by the host")
+    run_on_core._destination = destination
+    return
 
 def portable(function):
     """Decorates a function or method to be executed on the same device (host/core device) as the caller."""
diff --git a/nac3artiq/src/codegen.rs b/nac3artiq/src/codegen.rs
index 653f41a..baa9a29 100644
--- a/nac3artiq/src/codegen.rs
+++ b/nac3artiq/src/codegen.rs
@@ -962,6 +962,189 @@ fn rpc_codegen_callback_fn<'ctx>(
     }
 }
 
+fn subkernel_call_codegen_callback_fn<'ctx>(
+    ctx: &mut CodeGenContext<'ctx, '_>,
+    obj: Option<(Type, ValueEnum<'ctx>)>,
+    fun: (&FunSignature, DefinitionId),
+    args: Vec<(Option<StrRef>, ValueEnum<'ctx>)>,
+    generator: &mut dyn CodeGenerator,
+    destination: u8,
+) -> Result<Option<BasicValueEnum<'ctx>>, String> {
+    let int8 = ctx.ctx.i8_type();
+    let int32 = ctx.ctx.i32_type();
+    let bool_type = ctx.ctx.bool_type();
+    let size_type = generator.get_size_type(ctx.ctx);
+    let ptr_type = int8.ptr_type(AddressSpace::default());
+    let tag_ptr_type = ctx.ctx.struct_type(&[ptr_type.into(), size_type.into()], false);
+
+    let subkernel_id = int32.const_int(fun.1 .0 as u64, false);
+    let destination = int8.const_int(destination as u64, false);
+    // -- setup rpc tags
+    let mut tag = Vec::new();
+    if obj.is_some() {
+        tag.push(b'O');
+    }
+    for arg in &fun.0.args {
+        gen_rpc_tag(ctx, arg.ty, &mut tag)?;
+    }
+    tag.push(b':');
+    gen_rpc_tag(ctx, fun.0.ret, &mut tag)?;
+
+    let mut hasher = DefaultHasher::new();
+    tag.hash(&mut hasher);
+    let hash = format!("{}", hasher.finish());
+
+    let tag_ptr = ctx
+        .module
+        .get_global(hash.as_str())
+        .unwrap_or_else(|| {
+            let tag_arr_ptr = ctx.module.add_global(
+                int8.array_type(tag.len() as u32),
+                None,
+                format!("tagptr{}", fun.1 .0).as_str(),
+            );
+            tag_arr_ptr.set_initializer(&int8.const_array(
+                &tag.iter().map(|v| int8.const_int(u64::from(*v), false)).collect::<Vec<_>>(),
+            ));
+            tag_arr_ptr.set_linkage(Linkage::Private);
+            let tag_ptr = ctx.module.add_global(tag_ptr_type, None, &hash);
+            tag_ptr.set_linkage(Linkage::Private);
+            tag_ptr.set_initializer(&ctx.ctx.const_struct(
+                &[
+                    tag_arr_ptr.as_pointer_value().const_cast(ptr_type).into(),
+                    size_type.const_int(tag.len() as u64, false).into(),
+                ],
+                false,
+            ));
+            tag_ptr
+        })
+        .as_pointer_value();
+
+    let arg_length = args.len() + usize::from(obj.is_some());
+
+    let stackptr = call_stacksave(ctx, Some("subkernel.stack"));
+    let args_ptr = ctx
+        .builder
+        .build_array_alloca(
+            ptr_type,
+            ctx.ctx.i32_type().const_int(arg_length as u64, false),
+            "argptr",
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+
+    // -- subkernel args handling
+    let mut keys = fun.0.args.clone();
+    let mut mapping = HashMap::new();
+    for (key, value) in args {
+        mapping.insert(key.unwrap_or_else(|| keys.remove(0).name), value);
+    }
+
+    // default value handling
+    // in old compiler, subkernels would generate default values, and they would not be sent
+    // TODO: see if it makes sense
+    for k in keys {
+        mapping
+            .insert(k.name, ctx.gen_symbol_val(generator, &k.default_value.unwrap(), k.ty).into());
+    }
+
+    // 'self' is skipped for subkernels
+    let no_self: Vec<_> = fun.0.args.iter().filter(|arg| arg.name != "self".into()).collect();
+    // reorder the parameters
+    let mut real_params = no_self
+        .iter()
+        .map(|arg| {
+            mapping
+                .remove(&arg.name)
+                .unwrap()
+                .to_basic_value_enum(ctx, generator, arg.ty)
+                .map(|llvm_val| (llvm_val, arg.ty))
+        })
+        .collect::<Result<Vec<(_, _)>, _>>()?;
+
+    if let Some(obj) = obj {
+        if let ValueEnum::Static(obj_val) = obj.1 {
+            real_params.insert(0, (obj_val.get_const_obj(ctx, generator), obj.0));
+        } else {
+            // should be an error here...
+            panic!("only host object is allowed");
+        }
+    }
+
+    for (i, (arg, arg_ty)) in real_params.iter().enumerate() {
+        let arg_slot = format_rpc_arg(generator, ctx, (*arg, *arg_ty, i));
+        let arg_ptr = unsafe {
+            ctx.builder.build_gep(
+                args_ptr,
+                &[int32.const_int(i as u64, false)],
+                &format!("subkernel.arg{i}"),
+            )
+        }
+        .unwrap();
+        ctx.builder.build_store(arg_ptr, arg_slot).unwrap();
+    }
+
+    // call subkernel first
+    let subkernel_call = ctx.module.get_function("subkernel_load_run").unwrap_or_else(|| {
+        ctx.module.add_function(
+            "subkernel_load_run",
+            ctx.ctx.void_type().fn_type(&[int32.into(), int8.into(), bool_type.into()], false),
+            None,
+        )
+    });
+    ctx.builder
+        .build_call(
+            subkernel_call,
+            &[subkernel_id.into(), destination.into(), bool_type.const_all_ones().into()],
+            "subkernel.call",
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+
+    // send the arguments (if any)
+    if real_params.len() > 0 {
+        let subkernel_send =
+            ctx.module.get_function("subkernel_send_message").unwrap_or_else(|| {
+                ctx.module.add_function(
+                    "subkernel_send_message",
+                    ctx.ctx.void_type().fn_type(
+                        &[
+                            int32.into(),
+                            bool_type.into(),
+                            int8.into(),
+                            int8.into(),
+                            tag_ptr_type.ptr_type(AddressSpace::default()).into(),
+                            ptr_type.ptr_type(AddressSpace::default()).into(),
+                        ],
+                        false,
+                    ),
+                    None,
+                )
+            });
+
+        ctx.builder
+            .build_call(
+                subkernel_send,
+                &[
+                    subkernel_id.into(),
+                    bool_type.const_zero().into(),
+                    destination.into(),
+                    int32.const_int(real_params.len() as u64, false).into(),
+                    tag_ptr.into(),
+                    args_ptr.into(),
+                ],
+                "subkernel.send",
+            )
+            .unwrap();
+    }
+
+    if real_params.len() > 0 {
+        // reclaim stack space used by arguments
+        call_stackrestore(ctx, stackptr);
+    }
+
+    // calling a subkernel returns nothing
+    Ok(None)
+}
+
 pub fn attributes_writeback<'ctx>(
     ctx: &mut CodeGenContext<'ctx, '_>,
     generator: &mut dyn CodeGenerator,
@@ -1076,6 +1259,12 @@ pub fn rpc_codegen_callback(is_async: bool) -> Arc<GenCall> {
     })))
 }
 
+pub fn subkernel_call_codegen_callback(destination: u8) -> Arc<GenCall> {
+    Arc::new(GenCall::new(Box::new(move |ctx, obj, fun, args, generator| {
+        subkernel_call_codegen_callback_fn(ctx, obj, fun, args, generator, destination)
+    })))
+}
+
 /// Returns the `fprintf` format constant for the given [`llvm_int_t`][`IntType`] on a platform with
 /// [`llvm_usize`] as its native word size.
 ///
diff --git a/nac3artiq/src/lib.rs b/nac3artiq/src/lib.rs
index ca2f2f1..a6b66c4 100644
--- a/nac3artiq/src/lib.rs
+++ b/nac3artiq/src/lib.rs
@@ -60,7 +60,8 @@ use nac3core::{
 use nac3ld::Linker;
 
 use codegen::{
-    attributes_writeback, gen_core_log, gen_rtio_log, rpc_codegen_callback, ArtiqCodeGenerator,
+    attributes_writeback, gen_core_log, gen_rtio_log, rpc_codegen_callback,
+    subkernel_call_codegen_callback, ArtiqCodeGenerator,
 };
 use symbol_resolver::{DeferredEvaluationStore, InnerResolver, PythonHelper, Resolver};
 use timeline::TimeFns;
@@ -208,7 +209,10 @@ impl Nac3 {
                         if let StmtKind::FunctionDef { ref decorator_list, .. } = stmt.node {
                             decorator_list.iter().any(|decorator| {
                                 if let Some(id) = decorator_id_string(decorator) {
-                                    id == "kernel" || id == "portable" || id == "rpc"
+                                    id == "kernel"
+                                        || id == "portable"
+                                        || id == "rpc"
+                                        || id == "subkernel"
                                 } else {
                                     false
                                 }
@@ -222,7 +226,11 @@ impl Nac3 {
                 StmtKind::FunctionDef { ref decorator_list, .. } => {
                     decorator_list.iter().any(|decorator| {
                         if let Some(id) = decorator_id_string(decorator) {
-                            id == "extern" || id == "kernel" || id == "portable" || id == "rpc"
+                            id == "extern"
+                                || id == "kernel"
+                                || id == "portable"
+                                || id == "rpc"
+                                || id == "subkernel"
                         } else {
                             false
                         }
@@ -394,6 +402,7 @@ impl Nac3 {
         let store_obj = embedding_map.getattr("store_object").unwrap().to_object(py);
         let store_str = embedding_map.getattr("store_str").unwrap().to_object(py);
         let store_fun = embedding_map.getattr("store_function").unwrap().to_object(py);
+        let store_subk = embedding_map.getattr("store_subkernel").unwrap().to_object(py);
         let host_attributes = embedding_map.getattr("attributes_writeback").unwrap().to_object(py);
         let global_value_ids: Arc<RwLock<HashMap<_, _>>> = Arc::new(RwLock::new(HashMap::new()));
         let helper = PythonHelper {
@@ -424,6 +433,7 @@ impl Nac3 {
         let mut module_to_resolver_cache: HashMap<u64, _> = HashMap::new();
 
         let mut rpc_ids = vec![];
+        let mut subkernel_ids = vec![];
         for (stmt, path, module) in &self.top_levels {
             let py_module: &PyAny = module.extract(py)?;
             let module_id: u64 = id_fn.call1((py_module,))?.extract()?;
@@ -507,6 +517,22 @@ impl Nac3 {
                                 .any(|constant| *constant == Constant::Str("async".into()))
                         });
                         rpc_ids.push((None, def_id, is_async));
+                    } else if decorator_list.iter().any(|decorator| {
+                        decorator_id_string(decorator) == Some("subkernel".to_string())
+                    }) {
+                        if let Some(Constant::Int(dest)) = decorator_get_destination(decorator_list)
+                        {
+                            store_subk
+                                .call1(
+                                    py,
+                                    (
+                                        def_id.0.into_py(py),
+                                        module.getattr(py, name.to_string().as_str()).unwrap(),
+                                    ),
+                                )
+                                .unwrap();
+                            subkernel_ids.push((None, def_id, dest));
+                        }
                     }
                 }
                 StmtKind::ClassDef { name, body, .. } => {
@@ -529,6 +555,24 @@ impl Nac3 {
                                     )));
                                 }
                                 rpc_ids.push((Some((class_obj.clone(), *name)), def_id, is_async));
+                            } else if decorator_list.iter().any(|decorator| {
+                                decorator_id_string(decorator) == Some("subkernel".to_string())
+                            }) {
+                                if name == &"__init__".into() {
+                                    return Err(CompileError::new_err(format!(
+                                        "compilation failed\n----------\nThe constructor of class {} should not be decorated with subkernel decorator (at {})",
+                                        class_name, stmt.location
+                                    )));
+                                }
+                                if let Some(Constant::Int(dest)) =
+                                    decorator_get_destination(decorator_list)
+                                {
+                                    subkernel_ids.push((
+                                        Some((class_obj.clone(), *name)),
+                                        def_id,
+                                        dest,
+                                    ));
+                                }
                             }
                         }
                     }
@@ -667,6 +711,45 @@ impl Nac3 {
                     }
                 }
             }
+            for (class_data, id, destination) in &subkernel_ids {
+                let mut def = defs[id.0].write();
+                match &mut *def {
+                    TopLevelDef::Function { codegen_callback, .. } => {
+                        *codegen_callback =
+                            Some(subkernel_call_codegen_callback(*destination as u8));
+                    }
+                    TopLevelDef::Class { methods, .. } => {
+                        let (class_def, method_name) = class_data.as_ref().unwrap();
+                        for (name, _, id) in &*methods {
+                            if name != method_name {
+                                continue;
+                            }
+                            if let TopLevelDef::Function { codegen_callback, .. } =
+                                &mut *defs[id.0].write()
+                            {
+                                *codegen_callback =
+                                    Some(subkernel_call_codegen_callback(*destination as u8));
+                                store_fun
+                                    .call1(
+                                        py,
+                                        (
+                                            id.0.into_py(py),
+                                            class_def
+                                                .getattr(py, name.to_string().as_str())
+                                                .unwrap(),
+                                        ),
+                                    )
+                                    .unwrap();
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                    TopLevelDef::Variable { .. } => {
+                        return Err(CompileError::new_err(String::from(
+                            "Unsupported @subkernel annotation on global variable",
+                        )))
+                    }
+                }
+            }
         }
 
         let instance = {
@@ -923,6 +1006,23 @@ fn decorator_get_flags(decorator: &Located<ExprKind>) -> Vec<Constant> {
     flags
 }
 
+/// Retrieves destination from subkernel decorator.
+fn decorator_get_destination(decorator_list: &Vec<Located<ExprKind>>) -> Option<Constant> {
+    for decorator in decorator_list {
+        if let ExprKind::Call { keywords, .. } = &decorator.node {
+            for keyword in keywords {
+                if keyword.node.arg != Some("destination".into()) {
+                    continue;
+                }
+                if let ExprKind::Constant { value, .. } = &keyword.node.value.node {
+                    return Some(value.clone());
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    None
+}
+
 fn link_with_lld(elf_filename: String, obj_filename: String) -> PyResult<()> {
     let linker_args = vec![
         "-shared".to_string(),
diff --git a/nac3core/src/toplevel/composer.rs b/nac3core/src/toplevel/composer.rs
index bd9a921..2ad9a32 100644
--- a/nac3core/src/toplevel/composer.rs
+++ b/nac3core/src/toplevel/composer.rs
@@ -1832,6 +1832,19 @@ impl TopLevelComposer {
                             continue;
                         }
                     }
+
+                    if let ExprKind::Call { func, .. } = &decorator_list[0].node {
+                        if matches!(&func.node, ExprKind::Name { id, .. } if id == &"subkernel".into())
+                        {
+                            let TopLevelDef::Function { instance_to_symbol, .. } =
+                                &mut *def.write()
+                            else {
+                                unreachable!()
+                            };
+                            instance_to_symbol.insert(String::new(), simple_name.to_string());
+                            continue;
+                        }
+                    }
                 }
 
                 let fun_body =