Livepeer Positions as Infrastructure for Real-Time AI Video Across Industries

Livepeer's ecosystem documentation is now publicly accessible and open for community contributions. Builders can directly edit and improve how the protocol is explained, discovered, and integrated. This follows a documentation restructure initiative launched in September 2025, which aimed to modernize the docs with a stakeholder-focused, AI-first approach. The restructure targeted four key groups: developers, delegators, gateway operators, and orchestrators. The move enables the community to participate in shaping how Livepeer is presented to new users and developers. [View the forum discussion](https://forum.livepeer.org/t/rfp-documentation-restructure/3071/13?u=mehrdad)

Livepeer has allocated **$19,000 from its treasury** to sponsor the open source tools its infrastructure relies on. The funding was distributed among four key projects: - FFmpeg - OpenCV - ComfyUI - oapi-codegen As part of this initiative, the **ComfyUI maintainer now collaborates directly** with Livepeer's AI SPE team on updates and improvements. This sponsorship demonstrates how web3 protocols can sustainably support the open source ecosystem they depend on. [Read the full report](https://forum.livepeer.org/t/retroactive-report-livepeer-open-source-sponsorship-initiative/3207)

The **AI x Open Media Forum** in Buenos Aires brought together 50+ participants for discussions on the future of open media infrastructure. **Key outcomes:** - Active conversations with [Coinbase](https://coinbase.com), [Story Protocol](https://storyprotocol.xyz), [Arweave](https://arweave.org), and XMTP - These discussions have evolved into **ongoing integration talks** led by the Livepeer Foundation - Forum featured symposium-style format with lightning talks and parallel creative/technical tracks **Major themes explored:** - Authenticity and provenance in media - Real-time video workflows - Trust across open media layers - Creative accessibility in high GPU cost regions A notable moment came from creator Franco, who highlighted how affordable compute enables creation in regions where GPU costs are prohibitive - underscoring the importance of open, accessible video AI infrastructure. The event concluded with a 500+ person celebration featuring Refraction x Livepeer, streamed live to Farcaster and Base App. [Read more details](https://forum.livepeer.org/t/rfp-devconnect-assembly/3101/6?u=mehrdad)

Livepeer's AI SPE has shipped production-ready custom workloads, allowing developers to bring their own containers to run custom AI jobs on the network. **Key developments:** - Embody has been running custom workloads for 6 months - Streamplace is preparing to launch soon - PyTrickle enables Python applications to join the network with a single package import This milestone follows the approval of the AI Video SPE Stage 3 proposal, which secured 35,000 LPT in funding. The initiative aims to unlock decentralized media-related AI compute jobs with real-time AI pipelines, batch and generative AI optimizations, and enhanced on-chain metrics. Developers can now leverage Livepeer's infrastructure for custom AI workloads, expanding the platform's capabilities beyond standard video processing. [Read the full retrospective](<https://forum.livepeer.org/t/ai-spe-phase-4-retrospective/3208>)

Livepeer Cloud SPE is rolling out network observability infrastructure in Q1 2026, introducing standardized SLA metrics, analytics tools, and public APIs. **Key developments:** - First-time access to transparent performance data for orchestrators and builders - Standardized metrics will enable better network monitoring - Public APIs will allow developers to integrate performance data into applications This builds on previous work from 2024, when the SPE proposed an AI Job Tester and Performance Leaderboard to increase visibility into the AI subnet. The new observability tools represent the next phase in making network performance more transparent and accessible. The initiative aims to help stakeholders—including orchestrators, gateway operators, and app builders—make more informed decisions based on concrete performance metrics rather than limited visibility. [View the proposal](https://explorer.livepeer.org/treasury/47675980806842999962173227987422002121354040219792725319563843023665050472833)