diff --git a/python/extension-impl/src/extension.rs b/python/extension-impl/src/extension.rs
index 8417598f1..cb8e2127d 100644
--- a/python/extension-impl/src/extension.rs
+++ b/python/extension-impl/src/extension.rs
@@ -239,6 +239,18 @@ impl Trainer {
         }
         Ok(())
     }
+
+    pub fn truncate_bf16(self_: PyRef<'_, Self>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        let trainer = self_.trainer.write().unwrap().take();
+        if let Some(mut trainer) = trainer {
+            let trainer = self_.py().allow_threads(move || {
+                let _ = trainer.truncate_bf16();
+                trainer
+            });
+            *self_.trainer.write().unwrap() = Some(trainer);
+        }
+        Ok(())
+    }
 }
 
 #[pymodule]
diff --git a/python/python/psyche/sidecar/__main__.py b/python/python/psyche/sidecar/__main__.py
index d20f59d1a..c17d80142 100644
--- a/python/python/psyche/sidecar/__main__.py
+++ b/python/python/psyche/sidecar/__main__.py
@@ -318,6 +318,14 @@ def barrier():
 
             with torch.no_grad():
                 trainer.extract()
+        elif operation["operation"] == "truncate_bf16":
+            if trainer is None:
+                raise RuntimeError(
+                    "Got truncate_bf16 operation without having created a trainer"
+                )
+
+            with torch.no_grad():
+                trainer.truncate_bf16()
         elif operation["operation"] == "forward":
             with torch.no_grad():
                 forward = ForwardOperation(**operation)
diff --git a/shared/client/src/state/cooldown.rs b/shared/client/src/state/cooldown.rs
index 713e8c0c2..919735945 100644
--- a/shared/client/src/state/cooldown.rs
+++ b/shared/client/src/state/cooldown.rs
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ impl CooldownStepMetadata {
         mut trainers: Vec<Trainer>,
         state: &Coordinator,
     ) -> Result<CooldownStep, CooldownError> {
-        let Some(mut trainer) = trainers.pop() else {
+        let Some(trainer) = trainers.pop() else {
             return Err(CooldownError::NoTrainers);
         };
 
@@ -151,7 +151,13 @@ impl CooldownStepMetadata {
                 event!(cooldown::ModelSerializationStarted);
                 let (variables, trainer) =
                     tokio::task::spawn_blocking::<_, Result<_, CheckpointError>>(|| {
-                        let variables = trainer.extract()?;
+                        let mut trainer = trainer;
+                        trainer.truncate_bf16()?;
+                        let variables: HashMap<String, Tensor> = trainer
+                            .extract()?
+                            .into_iter()
+                            .map(|(name, tensor)| (name, tensor.to_kind(tch::Kind::BFloat16)))
+                            .collect();
                         info!("Model extracted; {} parameters", variables.len());
                         Ok((variables, trainer))
                     })
diff --git a/shared/modeling/src/python_distributed_trainer.rs b/shared/modeling/src/python_distributed_trainer.rs
index 74e06fe32..3fd518a33 100644
--- a/shared/modeling/src/python_distributed_trainer.rs
+++ b/shared/modeling/src/python_distributed_trainer.rs
@@ -339,6 +339,30 @@ impl PythonDistributedTrainer {
         Ok(result)
     }
 
+    pub fn truncate_bf16(&mut self) -> Result<(), TrainerThreadCommunicationError> {
+        let operation = serde_json::json!({
+            "operation": "truncate_bf16",
+        });
+
+        let iteration = self.iteration.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        trace!(
+            "Sending truncate_bf16 operation to Python clients, iteration = {}",
+            iteration
+        );
+
+        self.comm
+            .set(&iteration.to_string(), &operation.to_string())?;
+
+        // barrier to ensure everyone has seen the broadcast
+        let dummy = Tensor::zeros([], (Kind::Float, self.device));
+        self.comm.all_reduce(&dummy, ReduceType::Sum)?;
+
+        self.local.truncate_bf16()?;
+        trace!("Truncate bf16 operation complete on all Python clients");
+
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
     fn broadcast_distro_results(&self, distro_results: &[DistroResults]) -> PyResult<()> {
         let first = distro_results.first().unwrap();
         let params = first.len();
diff --git a/shared/modeling/src/trainer.rs b/shared/modeling/src/trainer.rs
index 936cb12ba..9b3cb7c9e 100644
--- a/shared/modeling/src/trainer.rs
+++ b/shared/modeling/src/trainer.rs
@@ -271,6 +271,7 @@ enum ParallelAssignment {
         loss_scale: Option<f64>,
     },
     Extract,
+    TruncateBf16,
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug)]
@@ -288,6 +289,7 @@ enum ParallelResult {
     Extract {
         variables: HashMap<String, Tensor>,
     },
+    TruncateBf16,
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug)]
@@ -357,6 +359,14 @@ impl Trainer {
         }
     }
 
+    pub fn truncate_bf16(&mut self) -> Result<(), TrainerThreadCommunicationError> {
+        match self {
+            Trainer::Local(local_trainer) => local_trainer.truncate_bf16(),
+            #[cfg(feature = "python")]
+            Trainer::PythonDistributed(python) => python.truncate_bf16(),
+        }
+    }
+
     pub fn can_do_inference(&self) -> bool {
         match self {
             Trainer::Local(local_trainer) => local_trainer.can_do_inference(),
@@ -705,6 +715,28 @@ impl LocalTrainer {
         Ok(extracted)
     }
 
+    pub fn truncate_bf16(&mut self) -> Result<(), TrainerThreadCommunicationError> {
+        self.barrier.reset();
+        for (tx, _) in &self.models {
+            tx.send(ParallelAssignment::TruncateBf16)
+                .map_err(|_| TrainerThreadCommunicationError::SendCommand)?;
+        }
+        for (_, rx) in &self.models {
+            match rx
+                .recv()
+                .map_err(|_| TrainerThreadCommunicationError::RecvResult)?
+            {
+                ParallelResult::TruncateBf16 => {}
+                result => {
+                    return Err(TrainerThreadCommunicationError::UnexpectedResult(format!(
+                        "{result:?}"
+                    )));
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
     // todo: refactor args into a struct
     #[allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
     fn model_thread(
@@ -1111,6 +1143,18 @@ impl LocalTrainer {
                         }
                     }
                 }
+                Ok(ParallelAssignment::TruncateBf16) => {
+                    let _no_grad = tch::no_grad_guard();
+                    for var in model.variables() {
+                        let mut tensor = var.local_tensor();
+                        let original_kind = tensor.kind();
+                        let truncated = tensor.to_kind(Kind::BFloat16).to_kind(original_kind);
+                        tensor.copy_(&truncated);
+                    }
+                    if submission.send(ParallelResult::TruncateBf16).is_err() {
+                        return;
+                    }
+                }
                 Err(_) => {
                     return;
                 }