Gateway Explainer

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Definition

Gateways serve as the primary demand aggregation layer in the Livepeer network. They accept video transcoding and AI inference requests from end customers, then distribute these jobs across the network of GPU-equipped Orchestrators. In earlier Livepeer documentation, this role was referred to as a broadcaster.

What is a Gateway?

Gateways are the entry point for applications into the Livepeercompute network. They are the coordination layer that connects real-time AI and video workloads to the orchestrators who perform the GPU compute.

They operate as the essential technical layer between the protocol and the distributed compute network.

A gateway is a self-operated Livepeer node that interacts directly with orchestrators, submits jobs, handles payment, and exposes direct protocol interfaces. Hosted services like Daydream are not gateways.

A Gateway is responsible for

• validating requests
• selecting Workers
• translating requests into Worker OpenAPI calls
• aggregating results

Gateways earn revenue from transaction fees on all jobs they route.

If you are coming from an Ethereum background, Gateways could loosely be thought of as sequencers in L2 rollups. If you are coming from a traditional cloud background, Gateways are akin to API gateways or load balancers.

Anyone that wants to build applications and services (like [Daydream] and [Stream.place] ) on top of the Livepeer protocol will build their own Gateway in order to offer their services to Livepeer Developers, Builders & end-users and enable communication of their application with the Livepeer GPU network (DePIN / Orchestrators)

What Gateways Do

Gateways handle all service-level logic required to operate a scalable, low-latency AI video network:

• Job Intake
  They receive workloads from applications using Livepeer APIs, PyTrickle, or BYOC integrations.

• Capability & Model Matching
  Gateways determine which orchestrators support the required GPU, model, or pipeline.

• Routing & Scheduling
  They dispatch jobs to the optimal orchestrator based on performance, availability, and pricing.

• Marketplace Exposure
  Gateway operators can publish the services they offer, including supported models, pipelines, and pricing structures.

Gateways do not perform GPU compute. Instead, they focus on coordination and service routing.

Gateway Functions & Services

Learn More About Gateway Functions & Services

Why Gateways Matter

As Livepeer transitions into a high-demand, real-time AI network, Gateways become essential infrastructure.

They enable:

• Low-latency workflows for Daydream, ComfyStream, and other real-time AI video tools
• Dynamic GPU routing for inference-heavy workloads
• A decentralized marketplace of compute capabilities
• Flexible integration via the BYOC pipeline model

Gateways simplify the developer experience while preserving the decentralization, performance, and competitiveness of the Livepeer network.

Summary

Gateways are the coordination and routing layer of the Livepeer ecosystem. They expose capabilities, price services, accept workloads, and dispatch them to orchestrators for GPU execution. This design enables a scalable, low-latency, AI-ready decentralized compute marketplace.

This architecture enables Livepeer to scale into a global provider of real-time AI video infrastructure.

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Marketplace Content

Key Marketplace Features

1. Capability Discovery

Gateways and orchestrators list:

• AI model support
• Versioning and model weights
• Pipeline compatibility
• GPU type and compute class

Applications can programmatically choose the best provider.

2. Dynamic Pricing

Pricing can vary by:

• GPU class
• Model complexity
• Latency SLA
• Throughput requirements
• Region

Gateways expose pricing APIs for transparent selection.

3. Performance Competition

Orchestrators compete on:

• Speed
• Reliability
• GPU quality
• Cost efficiency

Gateways compete on:

• Routing quality
• Supported features
• Latency
• Developer ecosystem fit

This creates a healthy decentralized market.

4. BYOC Integration

Any container-based pipeline can be brought into the marketplace:

• Run custom AI models
• Run ML workflows
• Execute arbitrary compute
• Support enterprise workloads

Gateways advertise BYOC offerings; orchestrators execute containers.

Protocol Overview

Understand the Full Livepeer Network Design

Marketplace Benefits

• Developer choice — choose the best model, price, and performance
• Economic incentives — better nodes earn more work
• Scalability — network supply grows independently of demand
• Innovation unlock — new models and pipelines can be added instantly
• Decentralization — no single operator controls the workload flow

Summary

The Marketplace turns Livepeer into a competitive, discoverable, real-time AI compute layer.

• Gateways expose services
• Orchestrators execute them
• Applications choose the best fit
• Developers build on top of it
• Users benefit from low-latency, high-performance AI

References