# On the sequential convergence of Lloyd's algorithms

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.20744 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.20744/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 31 May 2024.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Weighted quantization using MMD: From mean field to mean shift via gradient flows](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.10600/) (2025)
- [Towards Understanding Gradient Dynamics of the Sliced-Wasserstein Distance via Critical Point Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.06525/) (2025)
- [Gromov-Wasserstein Quantization and Clustering: Structure, Rates, and Algorithms](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.11016/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Lloyd's algorithm is an iterative method that solves the quantization problem, i.e. the approximation of a target probability measure by a discrete one, and is particularly used in digital applications. This algorithm can be interpreted as a gradient method on a certain quantization functional which is given by optimal transport. We study the sequential convergence (to a single accumulation point) for two variants of Lloyd's method: (i) optimal quantization with an arbitrary discrete measure and (ii) uniform quantization with a uniform discrete measure. For both cases, we prove sequential convergence of the iterates under an analiticity assumption on the density of the target measure. This includes for example analytic densities truncated to a compact semi-algebraic set. The argument leverages the log analytic nature of globally subanalytic integrals, the interpretation of Lloyd's method as a gradient method and the convergence analysis of gradient algorithms under Kurdyka-Lojasiewicz assumptions. As a by-product, we also obtain definability results for more general semi-discrete optimal transport losses such as transport distances with general costs, the max-sliced Wasserstein distance and the entropy regularized optimal transport loss.