diff --git a/c_api/include/taichi/cpp/taichi.hpp b/c_api/include/taichi/cpp/taichi.hpp
index 7d113adcf76d41..ea98278d0c92f5 100644
--- a/c_api/include/taichi/cpp/taichi.hpp
+++ b/c_api/include/taichi/cpp/taichi.hpp
@@ -797,6 +797,14 @@ class Runtime {
     return load_aot_module(path.c_str());
   }
 
+  AotModule create_aot_module(const void *tcm, size_t size) {
+    TiAotModule aot_module = ti_create_aot_module(runtime_, tcm, size);
+    return AotModule(runtime_, aot_module, true);
+  }
+  AotModule create_aot_module(const std::vector<uint8_t> &tcm) {
+    return create_aot_module(tcm.data(), tcm.size());
+  }
+
   void copy_memory_device_to_device(const TiMemorySlice &dst_memory,
                                     const TiMemorySlice &src_memory) {
     ti_copy_memory_device_to_device(runtime_, &dst_memory, &src_memory);
diff --git a/c_api/include/taichi/taichi_core.h b/c_api/include/taichi/taichi_core.h
index 0187745af96817..3242fec7e60787 100644
--- a/c_api/include/taichi/taichi_core.h
+++ b/c_api/include/taichi/taichi_core.h
@@ -995,6 +995,11 @@ TI_DLL_EXPORT void TI_API_CALL ti_wait(TiRuntime runtime);
 TI_DLL_EXPORT TiAotModule TI_API_CALL
 ti_load_aot_module(TiRuntime runtime, const char *module_path);
 
+// Function `ti_create_aot_module`
+TI_DLL_EXPORT TiAotModule TI_API_CALL ti_create_aot_module(TiRuntime runtime,
+                                                           const void *tcm,
+                                                           uint64_t size);
+
 // Function `ti_destroy_aot_module`
 //
 // Destroys a loaded AOT module and releases all related resources.
diff --git a/c_api/src/taichi_core_impl.cpp b/c_api/src/taichi_core_impl.cpp
index 5df3d3b08d6d2e..8616b5b25703dc 100644
--- a/c_api/src/taichi_core_impl.cpp
+++ b/c_api/src/taichi_core_impl.cpp
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 #include "taichi_llvm_impl.h"
 #include "taichi/program/ndarray.h"
 #include "taichi/program/texture.h"
+#include "taichi/common/virtual_dir.h"
 
 struct ErrorCache {
   TiError error{TI_ERROR_SUCCESS};
@@ -21,7 +22,7 @@ const char *describe_error(TiError error) {
     case TI_ERROR_NOT_SUPPORTED:
       return "not supported";
     case TI_ERROR_CORRUPTED_DATA:
-      return "path not found";
+      return "corrupted data";
     case TI_ERROR_NAME_NOT_FOUND:
       return "name not found";
     case TI_ERROR_INVALID_ARGUMENT:
@@ -492,6 +493,8 @@ TiAotModule ti_load_aot_module(TiRuntime runtime, const char *module_path) {
   TI_CAPI_ARGUMENT_NULL_RV(runtime);
   TI_CAPI_ARGUMENT_NULL_RV(module_path);
 
+  // (penguinliong) Should call `create_aot_module` directly after all backends
+  // adapted to it.
   TiAotModule aot_module = ((Runtime *)runtime)->load_aot_module(module_path);
 
   if (aot_module == TI_NULL_HANDLE) {
@@ -502,6 +505,26 @@ TiAotModule ti_load_aot_module(TiRuntime runtime, const char *module_path) {
   TI_CAPI_TRY_CATCH_END();
   return out;
 }
+TiAotModule ti_create_aot_module(TiRuntime runtime,
+                                 const void *tcm,
+                                 uint64_t size) {
+  TiAotModule out = TI_NULL_HANDLE;
+  TI_CAPI_TRY_CATCH_BEGIN();
+  TI_CAPI_ARGUMENT_NULL_RV(runtime);
+  TI_CAPI_ARGUMENT_NULL_RV(tcm);
+
+  auto dir = taichi::io::VirtualDir::from_zip(tcm, size);
+  if (dir == TI_NULL_HANDLE) {
+    ti_set_last_error(TI_ERROR_CORRUPTED_DATA, "tcm");
+    return TI_NULL_HANDLE;
+  }
+
+  Error err = ((Runtime *)runtime)->create_aot_module(dir.get(), out);
+  err.set_last_error();
+
+  TI_CAPI_TRY_CATCH_END();
+  return out;
+}
 void ti_destroy_aot_module(TiAotModule aot_module) {
   TI_CAPI_TRY_CATCH_BEGIN();
   TI_CAPI_ARGUMENT_NULL(aot_module);
diff --git a/c_api/src/taichi_core_impl.h b/c_api/src/taichi_core_impl.h
index 70c4ce7704fd24..b7fcf57b943536 100644
--- a/c_api/src/taichi_core_impl.h
+++ b/c_api/src/taichi_core_impl.h
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
 #include "taichi/rhi/device.h"
 #include "taichi/aot/graph_data.h"
 #include "taichi/aot/module_loader.h"
+#include "taichi/common/virtual_dir.h"
 
 #define TI_CAPI_NOT_SUPPORTED(x) ti_set_last_error(TI_ERROR_NOT_SUPPORTED, #x);
 #define TI_CAPI_NOT_SUPPORTED_IF(x)                \
@@ -89,6 +90,28 @@
     ti_set_last_error(TI_ERROR_INVALID_STATE, "c++ exception"); \
   }
 
+struct Error {
+  TiError error;
+  std::string message;
+
+  Error(TiError error, const std::string &message)
+      : error(error), message(message) {
+  }
+  Error() : error(TI_ERROR_SUCCESS), message() {
+  }
+  Error(const Error &) = delete;
+  Error(Error &&) = default;
+  Error &operator=(const Error &) = delete;
+  Error &operator=(Error &&) = default;
+
+  // Set this error as the last error if it's not `TI_ERROR_SUCCESS`.
+  inline void set_last_error() const {
+    if (error != TI_ERROR_SUCCESS) {
+      ti_set_last_error(error, message.c_str());
+    }
+  }
+};
+
 class Runtime {
  protected:
   // 32 is a magic number in `taichi/inc/constants.h`.
@@ -104,7 +127,18 @@ class Runtime {
 
   virtual taichi::lang::Device &get() = 0;
 
-  virtual TiAotModule load_aot_module(const char *module_path) = 0;
+  [[deprecated("create_aot_module")]] virtual TiAotModule load_aot_module(
+      const char *module_path) {
+    auto dir = taichi::io::VirtualDir::open(module_path);
+    TiAotModule aot_module = TI_NULL_HANDLE;
+    Error err = create_aot_module(dir.get(), aot_module);
+    err.set_last_error();
+    return aot_module;
+  }
+  virtual Error create_aot_module(const taichi::io::VirtualDir *dir,
+                                  TiAotModule &out) {
+    TI_NOT_IMPLEMENTED
+  }
   virtual TiMemory allocate_memory(
       const taichi::lang::Device::AllocParams &params);
   virtual void free_memory(TiMemory devmem);
diff --git a/c_api/src/taichi_gfx_impl.cpp b/c_api/src/taichi_gfx_impl.cpp
index e5dddb5a0a5dfb..8e7ed41f7e0e8e 100644
--- a/c_api/src/taichi_gfx_impl.cpp
+++ b/c_api/src/taichi_gfx_impl.cpp
@@ -4,14 +4,15 @@
 GfxRuntime::GfxRuntime(taichi::Arch arch) : Runtime(arch) {
 }
 
-TiAotModule GfxRuntime::load_aot_module(const char *module_path) {
+Error GfxRuntime::create_aot_module(const taichi::io::VirtualDir *dir,
+                                    TiAotModule &out) {
   taichi::lang::gfx::AotModuleParams params{};
-  params.module_path = module_path;
+  params.dir = dir;
   params.runtime = &get_gfx_runtime();
   std::unique_ptr<taichi::lang::aot::Module> aot_module =
       taichi::lang::aot::Module::load(arch, params);
   if (aot_module->is_corrupted()) {
-    return TI_NULL_HANDLE;
+    return Error(TI_ERROR_CORRUPTED_DATA, "aot_module");
   }
 
   const taichi::lang::DeviceCapabilityConfig &current_devcaps =
@@ -21,15 +22,16 @@ TiAotModule GfxRuntime::load_aot_module(const char *module_path) {
   for (const auto &pair : required_devcaps.devcaps) {
     uint32_t current_version = current_devcaps.get(pair.first);
     uint32_t required_version = pair.second;
-    if (current_version == required_version) {
-      ti_set_last_error(TI_ERROR_INCOMPATIBLE_MODULE,
-                        taichi::lang::to_string(pair.first).c_str());
+    if (current_version != required_version) {
+      return Error(TI_ERROR_INCOMPATIBLE_MODULE,
+                   taichi::lang::to_string(pair.first).c_str());
     }
   }
 
   size_t root_size = aot_module->get_root_size();
   params.runtime->add_root_buffer(root_size);
-  return (TiAotModule)(new AotModule(*this, std::move(aot_module)));
+  out = (TiAotModule) new AotModule(*this, std::move(aot_module));
+  return Error();
 }
 void GfxRuntime::buffer_copy(const taichi::lang::DevicePtr &dst,
                              const taichi::lang::DevicePtr &src,
diff --git a/c_api/src/taichi_gfx_impl.h b/c_api/src/taichi_gfx_impl.h
index c95c2c3ba30eac..86aeb4a3cb78ca 100644
--- a/c_api/src/taichi_gfx_impl.h
+++ b/c_api/src/taichi_gfx_impl.h
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 #include "taichi_core_impl.h"
 #include "taichi/runtime/gfx/runtime.h"
+#include "taichi/common/virtual_dir.h"
 
 class GfxRuntime;
 
@@ -10,7 +11,8 @@ class GfxRuntime : public Runtime {
   GfxRuntime(taichi::Arch arch);
   virtual taichi::lang::gfx::GfxRuntime &get_gfx_runtime() = 0;
 
-  virtual TiAotModule load_aot_module(const char *module_path) override final;
+  virtual Error create_aot_module(const taichi::io::VirtualDir *dir,
+                                  TiAotModule &out) override final;
   virtual void buffer_copy(const taichi::lang::DevicePtr &dst,
                            const taichi::lang::DevicePtr &src,
                            size_t size) override final;
diff --git a/c_api/taichi.json b/c_api/taichi.json
index 99d79468514026..68e59ae0a880a2 100644
--- a/c_api/taichi.json
+++ b/c_api/taichi.json
@@ -866,6 +866,27 @@
                         }
                     ]
                 },
+                {
+                    "name": "create_aot_module",
+                    "type": "function",
+                    "parameters": [
+                        {
+                            "name": "@return",
+                            "type": "handle.aot_module"
+                        },
+                        {
+                            "type": "handle.runtime"
+                        },
+                        {
+                            "name": "tcm",
+                            "type": "const void*"
+                        },
+                        {
+                            "name": "size",
+                            "type": "uint64_t"
+                        }
+                    ]
+                },
                 {
                     "name": "destroy_aot_module",
                     "type": "function",
diff --git a/c_api/tests/c_api_interface_test.cpp b/c_api/tests/c_api_interface_test.cpp
index e95073e3202f34..477d8ca5ea9440 100644
--- a/c_api/tests/c_api_interface_test.cpp
+++ b/c_api/tests/c_api_interface_test.cpp
@@ -165,3 +165,40 @@ TEST_F(CapiTest, TestLoadTcmAotModule) {
     }
   }
 }
+
+TEST_F(CapiTest, TestCreateTcmAotModule) {
+  if (capi::utils::is_vulkan_available()) {
+    const auto folder_dir = getenv("TAICHI_AOT_FOLDER_PATH");
+
+    std::stringstream aot_mod_ss;
+    aot_mod_ss << folder_dir << "/module.tcm";
+
+    std::vector<uint8_t> tcm;
+    {
+      std::fstream f(aot_mod_ss.str(),
+                     std::ios::in | std::ios::binary | std::ios::ate);
+      TI_ASSERT(f.is_open());
+      tcm.resize(f.tellg());
+      f.seekg(std::ios::beg);
+      f.read((char *)tcm.data(), tcm.size());
+    }
+
+    {
+      // Vulkan Runtime
+      TiArch arch = TiArch::TI_ARCH_VULKAN;
+      ti::Runtime runtime(arch);
+      ti::AotModule aot_mod = runtime.create_aot_module(tcm);
+      ti::Kernel run = aot_mod.get_kernel("run");
+      ti::NdArray<int32_t> arr =
+          runtime.allocate_ndarray<int32_t>({16}, {}, true);
+      run[0] = arr;
+      run.launch();
+      runtime.wait();
+      std::vector<int32_t> data(16);
+      arr.read(data);
+      for (int32_t i = 0; i < 16; ++i) {
+        TI_ASSERT(data.at(i) == i);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/taichi/common/virtual_dir.cpp b/taichi/common/virtual_dir.cpp
index 4b1cd7f0941728..d41baa07a5739e 100644
--- a/taichi/common/virtual_dir.cpp
+++ b/taichi/common/virtual_dir.cpp
@@ -60,9 +60,11 @@ struct ZipArchiveVirtualDir : public VirtualDir {
     f.seekg(std::ios::beg);
     f.read((char *)archive_data.data(), archive_data.size());
 
+    return from_zip(archive_data.data(), archive_data.size());
+  }
+  static std::unique_ptr<VirtualDir> from_zip(const void *data, size_t size) {
     zip::ZipArchive archive;
-    bool succ = zip::ZipArchive::try_from_bytes(archive_data.data(),
-                                                archive_data.size(), archive);
+    bool succ = zip::ZipArchive::try_from_bytes(data, size, archive);
     if (!succ) {
       return nullptr;
     }
@@ -121,5 +123,14 @@ std::unique_ptr<VirtualDir> VirtualDir::open(const std::string &path) {
   }
 }
 
+std::unique_ptr<VirtualDir> VirtualDir::from_zip(const void *data,
+                                                 size_t size) {
+  return ZipArchiveVirtualDir::from_zip(data, size);
+}
+std::unique_ptr<VirtualDir> VirtualDir::from_fs_dir(
+    const std::string &base_dir) {
+  return FilesystemVirtualDir::create(base_dir);
+}
+
 }  // namespace io
 }  // namespace taichi
diff --git a/taichi/common/virtual_dir.h b/taichi/common/virtual_dir.h
index 9772d29eaecfbd..66fe9b6ad4440a 100644
--- a/taichi/common/virtual_dir.h
+++ b/taichi/common/virtual_dir.h
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ struct TI_DLL_EXPORT VirtualDir {
   // Open a virtual directory based on what `path` points to. Zip files and
   // filesystem directories are supported.
   static std::unique_ptr<VirtualDir> open(const std::string &path);
+  static std::unique_ptr<VirtualDir> from_zip(const void *data, size_t size);
+  static std::unique_ptr<VirtualDir> from_fs_dir(const std::string &base_dir);
 
   // Get the `size` of the file at `path` in the virtual directory. Returns
   // false when the file doesn't exist.
diff --git a/taichi/runtime/gfx/aot_module_loader_impl.cpp b/taichi/runtime/gfx/aot_module_loader_impl.cpp
index 3ce2c45fdcf45e..16536536d0a8d3 100644
--- a/taichi/runtime/gfx/aot_module_loader_impl.cpp
+++ b/taichi/runtime/gfx/aot_module_loader_impl.cpp
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
 
 #include "taichi/runtime/gfx/runtime.h"
 #include "taichi/aot/graph_data.h"
-#include "taichi/common/virtual_dir.h"
 
 namespace taichi::lang {
 namespace gfx {
@@ -27,9 +26,10 @@ class AotModuleImpl : public aot::Module {
       : module_path_(params.module_path),
         runtime_(params.runtime),
         device_api_backend_(device_api_backend) {
-    auto dir = io::VirtualDir::open(params.module_path);
-    TI_ERROR_IF(dir == nullptr, "cannot open aot module '{}'",
-                params.module_path);
+    std::unique_ptr<io::VirtualDir> dir_alt =
+        io::VirtualDir::from_fs_dir(module_path_);
+    const io::VirtualDir *dir =
+        params.dir == nullptr ? dir_alt.get() : params.dir;
 
     bool succ = true;
 
diff --git a/taichi/runtime/gfx/aot_module_loader_impl.h b/taichi/runtime/gfx/aot_module_loader_impl.h
index 2557d07a599137..ee74d2fdd6b243 100644
--- a/taichi/runtime/gfx/aot_module_loader_impl.h
+++ b/taichi/runtime/gfx/aot_module_loader_impl.h
@@ -11,20 +11,25 @@
 #include "taichi/codegen/spirv/kernel_utils.h"
 #include "taichi/aot/module_builder.h"
 #include "taichi/aot/module_loader.h"
+#include "taichi/common/virtual_dir.h"
 
 namespace taichi::lang {
 namespace gfx {
 
 struct TI_DLL_EXPORT AotModuleParams {
-  std::string module_path;
+  std::string module_path{};
+  const io::VirtualDir *dir{nullptr};
   GfxRuntime *runtime{nullptr};
   bool enable_lazy_loading{false};
 
   AotModuleParams() = default;
 
-  AotModuleParams(const std::string &path, GfxRuntime *rt)
+  [[deprecated]] AotModuleParams(const std::string &path, GfxRuntime *rt)
       : module_path(path), runtime(rt) {
   }
+  AotModuleParams(const io::VirtualDir *dir, GfxRuntime *rt)
+      : dir(dir), runtime(rt) {
+  }
 };
 
 TI_DLL_EXPORT std::unique_ptr<aot::Module> make_aot_module(
diff --git a/tests/test_config.json b/tests/test_config.json
index e819a0ec87470b..0064be40d6d1a1 100644
--- a/tests/test_config.json
+++ b/tests/test_config.json
@@ -198,6 +198,10 @@
     "CapiTest.TestLoadTcmAotModule": [
         ["cpp", "aot", "python_scripts", "tcm_test.py"],
         "--arch=vulkan"
+    ],
+    "CapiTest.TestCreateTcmAotModule": [
+        ["cpp", "aot", "python_scripts", "tcm_test.py"],
+        "--arch=vulkan"
     ]
 }
 }