diff --git a/crates/ml-alpha/src/gate/auc.rs b/crates/ml-alpha/src/gate/auc.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..04c40aa3e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/ml-alpha/src/gate/auc.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+//! Per-horizon AUC computation (Mann-Whitney U statistic).
+//!
+//! Slow-path CPU operation — one shot per epoch per horizon, on data
+//! already downloaded from GPU (probs + labels). Not a hot-path kernel.
+
+use anyhow::Result;
+
+pub struct AucInput {
+    pub probs: Vec<f32>,
+    pub labels: Vec<f32>,
+}
+
+/// Computes ROC AUC via the Mann-Whitney U statistic.
+///
+/// `labels` entries in {0.0, 1.0}; NaN entries are filtered (mirrors
+/// `multi_horizon_labels::generate_labels` masking semantics).
+/// Returns 0.5 if either class is empty after filtering.
+pub fn compute_auc(input: &AucInput) -> Result<f32> {
+    anyhow::ensure!(
+        input.probs.len() == input.labels.len(),
+        "probs/labels size mismatch: {} vs {}",
+        input.probs.len(),
+        input.labels.len()
+    );
+
+    // Filter out NaN labels (right-edge / tied-price drops).
+    let paired: Vec<(f32, f32)> = input
+        .probs
+        .iter()
+        .zip(&input.labels)
+        .filter(|(p, y)| p.is_finite() && y.is_finite() && !y.is_nan())
+        .map(|(&p, &y)| (p, y))
+        .collect();
+    if paired.is_empty() {
+        return Ok(0.5);
+    }
+
+    let n_pos = paired.iter().filter(|(_, y)| *y > 0.5).count();
+    let n_neg = paired.len() - n_pos;
+    if n_pos == 0 || n_neg == 0 {
+        return Ok(0.5);
+    }
+
+    // Sort ascending by score; positives at higher ranks contribute to AUC.
+    let mut sorted = paired;
+    sorted.sort_by(|a, b| {
+        a.0.partial_cmp(&b.0)
+            .unwrap_or(std::cmp::Ordering::Equal)
+    });
+
+    // Sum of ranks of positives (rank starts at 1 to match Mann-Whitney
+    // formula). Average ranks for ties.
+    let mut rank_sum: f64 = 0.0;
+    let mut i = 0;
+    while i < sorted.len() {
+        let mut j = i + 1;
+        while j < sorted.len() && (sorted[j].0 - sorted[i].0).abs() < f32::EPSILON {
+            j += 1;
+        }
+        // Group [i, j) shares score → assign their average rank.
+        let avg_rank = (i as f64 + j as f64 + 1.0) / 2.0;
+        for k in i..j {
+            if sorted[k].1 > 0.5 {
+                rank_sum += avg_rank;
+            }
+        }
+        i = j;
+    }
+
+    let u = rank_sum - (n_pos as f64) * (n_pos as f64 + 1.0) / 2.0;
+    Ok((u / (n_pos as f64 * n_neg as f64)) as f32)
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use approx::assert_relative_eq;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn perfect_separation_yields_one() {
+        let probs = vec![0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.8, 0.85, 0.9, 0.95];
+        let labels = vec![0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0];
+        let a = compute_auc(&AucInput { probs, labels }).unwrap();
+        assert_relative_eq!(a, 1.0, epsilon = 1e-6);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn perfect_anti_separation_yields_zero() {
+        let probs = vec![0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.8, 0.85, 0.9, 0.95];
+        let labels = vec![1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0];
+        let a = compute_auc(&AucInput { probs, labels }).unwrap();
+        assert_relative_eq!(a, 0.0, epsilon = 1e-6);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn random_yields_around_half() {
+        // 1000 random pairs — uniform; AUC should be close to 0.5.
+        use rand::{Rng, SeedableRng};
+        use rand_chacha::ChaCha8Rng;
+        let mut r = ChaCha8Rng::seed_from_u64(0xA0C_5EED);
+        let n = 1000usize;
+        let probs: Vec<f32> = (0..n).map(|_| r.gen_range(0.0..1.0)).collect();
+        let labels: Vec<f32> = (0..n).map(|_| if r.gen_bool(0.5) { 1.0 } else { 0.0 }).collect();
+        let a = compute_auc(&AucInput { probs, labels }).unwrap();
+        assert!((a - 0.5).abs() < 0.05, "random AUC should be ≈0.5, got {a}");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn nan_labels_are_filtered() {
+        let probs = vec![0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.8, 0.9];
+        let labels = vec![f32::NAN, 0.0, f32::NAN, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0];
+        let a = compute_auc(&AucInput { probs, labels }).unwrap();
+        // Effective pairs: (0.2, 0), (0.4, 0), (0.8, 1), (0.9, 1) → perfect → 1.0
+        assert_relative_eq!(a, 1.0, epsilon = 1e-6);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn empty_class_yields_half() {
+        let probs = vec![0.1, 0.5, 0.9];
+        let labels = vec![1.0, 1.0, 1.0]; // no negatives
+        let a = compute_auc(&AucInput { probs, labels }).unwrap();
+        assert_relative_eq!(a, 0.5, epsilon = 1e-6);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn tied_scores_use_average_rank() {
+        // All probs equal → AUC = 0.5 regardless of labels.
+        let probs = vec![0.5; 8];
+        let labels = vec![1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0];
+        let a = compute_auc(&AucInput { probs, labels }).unwrap();
+        assert_relative_eq!(a, 0.5, epsilon = 1e-6);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/ml-alpha/src/gate/mod.rs b/crates/ml-alpha/src/gate/mod.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4fd0a4399
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/ml-alpha/src/gate/mod.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+//! Validation gate — CfC vs Mamba2 multi-horizon AUC comparison.
+//!
+//! Per the design spec Section 4 gate criterion: CfC AUC ≥ Mamba2 AUC
+//! at every horizon (with the 2026-05-16 stacked amendment shifting the
+//! framing to "stacked AUC ≥ Mamba2-only baseline AUC").
+
+pub mod auc;
+// pub mod cfc_vs_mamba2; — Task 17 will land this
diff --git a/crates/ml-alpha/src/lib.rs b/crates/ml-alpha/src/lib.rs
index dd2c27012..130dd9827 100644
--- a/crates/ml-alpha/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/ml-alpha/src/lib.rs
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
 //   Task 16+: pub mod gate;
 pub mod cfc;
 pub mod data;
+pub mod gate;
 pub mod heads;
 pub mod isv;
 pub mod pinned;