diff --git a/libs/hwui/HardwareBitmapUploader.cpp b/libs/hwui/HardwareBitmapUploader.cpp
index 8724442..ab9b8b5 100644
--- a/libs/hwui/HardwareBitmapUploader.cpp
+++ b/libs/hwui/HardwareBitmapUploader.cpp
@@ -56,12 +56,6 @@
 public:
     virtual ~AHBUploader() {}
 
-    // Called to start creation of the Vulkan and EGL contexts on another thread before we actually
-    // need to do an upload.
-    void initialize() {
-        onInitialize();
-    }
-
     void destroy() {
         std::lock_guard _lock{mLock};
         LOG_ALWAYS_FATAL_IF(mPendingUploads, "terminate called while uploads in progress");
@@ -91,7 +85,6 @@
     sp<ThreadBase> mUploadThread = nullptr;
 
 private:
-    virtual void onInitialize() = 0;
     virtual void onIdle() = 0;
     virtual void onDestroy() = 0;
 
@@ -141,7 +134,6 @@
 
 class EGLUploader : public AHBUploader {
 private:
-    void onInitialize() override {}
     void onDestroy() override {
         mEglManager.destroy();
     }
@@ -231,62 +223,67 @@
 
 class VkUploader : public AHBUploader {
 private:
-    void onInitialize() override {
-        std::lock_guard _lock{mLock};
-        if (!mUploadThread) {
-            mUploadThread = new ThreadBase{};
-        }
-        if (!mUploadThread->isRunning()) {
-            mUploadThread->start("GrallocUploadThread");
-        }
-
-        mUploadThread->queue().post([this]() {
-            std::lock_guard _lock{mVkLock};
-            if (!mVulkanManager.hasVkContext()) {
-                mVulkanManager.initialize();
-            }
-        });
-    }
     void onDestroy() override {
+        std::lock_guard _lock{mVkLock};
         mGrContext.reset();
-        mVulkanManager.destroy();
+        mVulkanManagerStrong.clear();
     }
     void onIdle() override {
-        mGrContext.reset();
+        onDestroy();
     }
 
-    void onBeginUpload() override {
-        {
-            std::lock_guard _lock{mVkLock};
-            if (!mVulkanManager.hasVkContext()) {
-                LOG_ALWAYS_FATAL_IF(mGrContext,
-                    "GrContext exists with no VulkanManager for vulkan uploads");
-                mUploadThread->queue().runSync([this]() {
-                    mVulkanManager.initialize();
-                });
-            }
-        }
-        if (!mGrContext) {
-            GrContextOptions options;
-            mGrContext = mVulkanManager.createContext(options);
-            LOG_ALWAYS_FATAL_IF(!mGrContext, "failed to create GrContext for vulkan uploads");
-            this->postIdleTimeoutCheck();
-        }
-    }
+    void onBeginUpload() override {}
 
     bool onUploadHardwareBitmap(const SkBitmap& bitmap, const FormatInfo& format,
                                 AHardwareBuffer* ahb) override {
-        ATRACE_CALL();
+        bool uploadSucceeded = false;
+        mUploadThread->queue().runSync([this, &uploadSucceeded, bitmap, ahb]() {
+          ATRACE_CALL();
+          std::lock_guard _lock{mVkLock};
 
-        std::lock_guard _lock{mLock};
+          renderthread::VulkanManager* vkManager = getVulkanManager();
+          if (!vkManager->hasVkContext()) {
+              LOG_ALWAYS_FATAL_IF(mGrContext,
+                                  "GrContext exists with no VulkanManager for vulkan uploads");
+              vkManager->initialize();
+          }
 
-        sk_sp<SkImage> image =
-                SkImage::MakeFromAHardwareBufferWithData(mGrContext.get(), bitmap.pixmap(), ahb);
-        return (image.get() != nullptr);
+          if (!mGrContext) {
+              GrContextOptions options;
+              mGrContext = vkManager->createContext(options,
+                      renderthread::VulkanManager::ContextType::kUploadThread);
+              LOG_ALWAYS_FATAL_IF(!mGrContext, "failed to create GrContext for vulkan uploads");
+              this->postIdleTimeoutCheck();
+          }
+
+          sk_sp<SkImage> image =
+              SkImage::MakeFromAHardwareBufferWithData(mGrContext.get(), bitmap.pixmap(), ahb);
+          mGrContext->submit(true);
+
+          uploadSucceeded = (image.get() != nullptr);
+        });
+        return uploadSucceeded;
+    }
+
+    /* must be called on the upload thread after the vkLock has been acquired  */
+    renderthread::VulkanManager* getVulkanManager() {
+        if (!mVulkanManagerStrong) {
+            mVulkanManagerStrong = mVulkanManagerWeak.promote();
+
+            // create a new manager if we couldn't promote the weak ref
+            if (!mVulkanManagerStrong) {
+                mVulkanManagerStrong = renderthread::VulkanManager::getInstance();
+                mGrContext.reset();
+                mVulkanManagerWeak = mVulkanManagerStrong;
+            }
+        }
+
+        return mVulkanManagerStrong.get();
     }
 
     sk_sp<GrDirectContext> mGrContext;
-    renderthread::VulkanManager mVulkanManager;
+    sp<renderthread::VulkanManager> mVulkanManagerStrong;
+    wp<renderthread::VulkanManager> mVulkanManagerWeak;
     std::mutex mVkLock;
 };
 
@@ -428,7 +425,6 @@
     bool usingGL = uirenderer::Properties::getRenderPipelineType() ==
             uirenderer::RenderPipelineType::SkiaGL;
     createUploader(usingGL);
-    sUploader->initialize();
 }
 
 void HardwareBitmapUploader::terminate() {
diff --git a/libs/hwui/renderthread/RenderThread.cpp b/libs/hwui/renderthread/RenderThread.cpp
index 565fb61..4dcbc44 100644
--- a/libs/hwui/renderthread/RenderThread.cpp
+++ b/libs/hwui/renderthread/RenderThread.cpp
@@ -131,8 +131,7 @@
         , mFrameCallbackTaskPending(false)
         , mRenderState(nullptr)
         , mEglManager(nullptr)
-        , mFunctorManager(WebViewFunctorManager::instance())
-        , mVkManager(nullptr) {
+        , mFunctorManager(WebViewFunctorManager::instance()) {
     Properties::load();
     start("RenderThread");
 }
@@ -166,7 +165,7 @@
     initializeChoreographer();
     mEglManager = new EglManager();
     mRenderState = new RenderState(*this);
-    mVkManager = new VulkanManager();
+    mVkManager = VulkanManager::getInstance();
     mCacheManager = new CacheManager();
 }
 
@@ -196,7 +195,8 @@
 }
 
 void RenderThread::requireVkContext() {
-    if (mVkManager->hasVkContext()) {
+    // the getter creates the context in the event it had been destroyed by destroyRenderingContext
+    if (vulkanManager().hasVkContext()) {
         return;
     }
     mVkManager->initialize();
@@ -222,13 +222,18 @@
             mEglManager->destroy();
         }
     } else {
-        if (vulkanManager().hasVkContext()) {
-            setGrContext(nullptr);
-            vulkanManager().destroy();
-        }
+        setGrContext(nullptr);
+        mVkManager.clear();
     }
 }
 
+VulkanManager& RenderThread::vulkanManager() {
+    if (!mVkManager.get()) {
+        mVkManager = VulkanManager::getInstance();
+    }
+    return *mVkManager.get();
+}
+
 void RenderThread::dumpGraphicsMemory(int fd) {
     globalProfileData()->dump(fd);
 
diff --git a/libs/hwui/renderthread/RenderThread.h b/libs/hwui/renderthread/RenderThread.h
index b8ce556..d7dc00b 100644
--- a/libs/hwui/renderthread/RenderThread.h
+++ b/libs/hwui/renderthread/RenderThread.h
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@
     void setGrContext(sk_sp<GrDirectContext> cxt);
 
     CacheManager& cacheManager() { return *mCacheManager; }
-    VulkanManager& vulkanManager() { return *mVkManager; }
+    VulkanManager& vulkanManager();
 
     sk_sp<Bitmap> allocateHardwareBitmap(SkBitmap& skBitmap);
     void dumpGraphicsMemory(int fd);
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@
 
     sk_sp<GrDirectContext> mGrContext;
     CacheManager* mCacheManager;
-    VulkanManager* mVkManager;
+    sp<VulkanManager> mVkManager;
 };
 
 } /* namespace renderthread */
diff --git a/libs/hwui/renderthread/VulkanManager.cpp b/libs/hwui/renderthread/VulkanManager.cpp
index 249936e..0c5cf682 100644
--- a/libs/hwui/renderthread/VulkanManager.cpp
+++ b/libs/hwui/renderthread/VulkanManager.cpp
@@ -57,12 +57,22 @@
 #define GET_INST_PROC(F) m##F = (PFN_vk##F)vkGetInstanceProcAddr(mInstance, "vk" #F)
 #define GET_DEV_PROC(F) m##F = (PFN_vk##F)vkGetDeviceProcAddr(mDevice, "vk" #F)
 
-void VulkanManager::destroy() {
-    if (VK_NULL_HANDLE != mCommandPool) {
-        mDestroyCommandPool(mDevice, mCommandPool, nullptr);
-        mCommandPool = VK_NULL_HANDLE;
+sp<VulkanManager> VulkanManager::getInstance() {
+    // cache a weakptr to the context to enable a second thread to share the same vulkan state
+    static wp<VulkanManager> sWeakInstance = nullptr;
+    static std::mutex sLock;
+
+    std::lock_guard _lock{sLock};
+    sp<VulkanManager> vulkanManager = sWeakInstance.promote();
+    if (!vulkanManager.get()) {
+        vulkanManager = new VulkanManager();
+        sWeakInstance = vulkanManager;
     }
 
+    return vulkanManager;
+}
+
+VulkanManager::~VulkanManager() {
     if (mDevice != VK_NULL_HANDLE) {
         mDeviceWaitIdle(mDevice);
         mDestroyDevice(mDevice, nullptr);
@@ -73,6 +83,7 @@
     }
 
     mGraphicsQueue = VK_NULL_HANDLE;
+    mAHBUploadQueue = VK_NULL_HANDLE;
     mPresentQueue = VK_NULL_HANDLE;
     mDevice = VK_NULL_HANDLE;
     mPhysicalDevice = VK_NULL_HANDLE;
@@ -175,6 +186,7 @@
     for (uint32_t i = 0; i < queueCount; i++) {
         if (queueProps[i].queueFlags & VK_QUEUE_GRAPHICS_BIT) {
             mGraphicsQueueIndex = i;
+            LOG_ALWAYS_FATAL_IF(queueProps[i].queueCount < 2);
             break;
         }
     }
@@ -283,7 +295,7 @@
                     queueNextPtr,                                // pNext
                     0,                                           // VkDeviceQueueCreateFlags
                     mGraphicsQueueIndex,                         // queueFamilyIndex
-                    1,                                           // queueCount
+                    2,                                           // queueCount
                     queuePriorities,                             // pQueuePriorities
             },
             {
@@ -347,6 +359,7 @@
     this->setupDevice(mExtensions, mPhysicalDeviceFeatures2);
 
     mGetDeviceQueue(mDevice, mGraphicsQueueIndex, 0, &mGraphicsQueue);
+    mGetDeviceQueue(mDevice, mGraphicsQueueIndex, 1, &mAHBUploadQueue);
 
     // create the command pool for the command buffers
     if (VK_NULL_HANDLE == mCommandPool) {
@@ -369,7 +382,8 @@
     }
 }
 
-sk_sp<GrDirectContext> VulkanManager::createContext(const GrContextOptions& options) {
+sk_sp<GrDirectContext> VulkanManager::createContext(const GrContextOptions& options,
+                                                    ContextType contextType) {
     auto getProc = [](const char* proc_name, VkInstance instance, VkDevice device) {
         if (device != VK_NULL_HANDLE) {
             return vkGetDeviceProcAddr(device, proc_name);
@@ -381,7 +395,8 @@
     backendContext.fInstance = mInstance;
     backendContext.fPhysicalDevice = mPhysicalDevice;
     backendContext.fDevice = mDevice;
-    backendContext.fQueue = mGraphicsQueue;
+    backendContext.fQueue = (contextType == ContextType::kRenderThread) ? mGraphicsQueue
+                                                                        : mAHBUploadQueue;
     backendContext.fGraphicsQueueIndex = mGraphicsQueueIndex;
     backendContext.fMaxAPIVersion = mAPIVersion;
     backendContext.fVkExtensions = &mExtensions;
diff --git a/libs/hwui/renderthread/VulkanManager.h b/libs/hwui/renderthread/VulkanManager.h
index 3f2df8d..13335f3 100644
--- a/libs/hwui/renderthread/VulkanManager.h
+++ b/libs/hwui/renderthread/VulkanManager.h
@@ -43,10 +43,9 @@
 // This class contains the shared global Vulkan objects, such as VkInstance, VkDevice and VkQueue,
 // which are re-used by CanvasContext. This class is created once and should be used by all vulkan
 // windowing contexts. The VulkanManager must be initialized before use.
-class VulkanManager {
+class VulkanManager final : public RefBase {
 public:
-    explicit VulkanManager() {}
-    ~VulkanManager() { destroy(); }
+    static sp<VulkanManager> getInstance();
 
     // Sets up the vulkan context that is shared amonst all clients of the VulkanManager. This must
     // be call once before use of the VulkanManager. Multiple calls after the first will simiply
@@ -68,9 +67,6 @@
     Frame dequeueNextBuffer(VulkanSurface* surface);
     void swapBuffers(VulkanSurface* surface, const SkRect& dirtyRect);
 
-    // Cleans up all the global state in the VulkanManger.
-    void destroy();
-
     // Inserts a wait on fence command into the Vulkan command buffer.
     status_t fenceWait(int fence, GrDirectContext* grContext);
 
@@ -83,12 +79,24 @@
     // the internal state of VulkanManager: VulkanManager must be alive to use the returned value.
     VkFunctorInitParams getVkFunctorInitParams() const;
 
-    sk_sp<GrDirectContext> createContext(const GrContextOptions& options);
+
+    enum class ContextType {
+        kRenderThread,
+        kUploadThread
+    };
+
+    // returns a Skia graphic context used to draw content on the specified thread
+    sk_sp<GrDirectContext> createContext(const GrContextOptions& options,
+                                         ContextType contextType = ContextType::kRenderThread);
 
     uint32_t getDriverVersion() const { return mDriverVersion; }
 
 private:
     friend class VulkanSurface;
+
+    explicit VulkanManager() {}
+    ~VulkanManager();
+
     // Sets up the VkInstance and VkDevice objects. Also fills out the passed in
     // VkPhysicalDeviceFeatures struct.
     void setupDevice(GrVkExtensions&, VkPhysicalDeviceFeatures2&);
@@ -154,6 +162,7 @@
 
     uint32_t mGraphicsQueueIndex;
     VkQueue mGraphicsQueue = VK_NULL_HANDLE;
+    VkQueue mAHBUploadQueue = VK_NULL_HANDLE;
     uint32_t mPresentQueueIndex;
     VkQueue mPresentQueue = VK_NULL_HANDLE;
     VkCommandPool mCommandPool = VK_NULL_HANDLE;