Livepeer is a decentralised AI and video compute network. Its architecture is divided into three zones that interact without overlapping. The Protocol secures and coordinates. The Network executes compute jobs. The Platform exposes the network’s capabilities through APIs, SDKs, and managed services. Understanding these boundaries is what separates the mental model from the deep-dive pages in the protocol/ and network/ sections. This page names each zone, its actors, its compute types, and the economic and governance model that holds it together.
The three zones
The Protocol is the on-chain coordination, security, and economic layer. Smart contracts deployed on Arbitrum One govern staking, delegation, inflation, reward distribution, probabilistic micropayments, and governance. The protocol sets the rules that all other participants follow. It does not run compute, route jobs, or interact with video data. The Network is the execution layer - the running system of GPU nodes and routing logic that performs video transcoding and AI inference. Orchestrators, gateways, and transcoders operate entirely off-chain. The network follows the rules the protocol establishes and settles payment for completed work via on-chain ticket redemption. The Platform is the product and developer interface layer. Managed gateways, APIs, SDKs, and community products (Livepeer Studio, Daydream, Streamplace) sit here. Platform services abstract protocol and network complexity into stable developer primitives. They are not part of the protocol and are not part of the network - they are opinions about how to expose the network’s capabilities.Actors
A Livepeer actor is any role or entity that participates in the protocol or network and performs actions defined by the system. Each actor has distinct responsibilities, incentives, and interactions. Orchestrators are GPU operators who register with the protocol by staking LPT and run go-livepeer software to process video and AI jobs. They compete on price, latency, and quality. Orchestrators earn ETH fees from completed work and LPT inflation rewards proportional to their delegated stake. Gateways are the demand-facing entry points to the network. They accept compute jobs from applications and services, route work to orchestrators, and handle session management. Gateways pay orchestrators using probabilistic micropayment tickets backed by ETH deposits held in the on-chain TicketBroker contract. Delegators are LPT token holders who bond their stake to an orchestrator to support the network’s security and earn a share of that orchestrator’s inflation rewards. Delegators do not run infrastructure; they participate through stake delegation. Builders and end users are developers who build products on top of the platform layer and users who consume those products. They interact with Livepeer through APIs and managed services and have no direct relationship with orchestrators or the protocol.The two compute types
Livepeer supports two distinct workload categories. They are distinct because they have different latency requirements, different hardware profiles, and different demand patterns. Video transcoding converts raw video streams into multiple output formats and bitrates in real time. It is Livepeer’s original workload and accounts for the majority of network usage by volume. Transcoding jobs are segment-based: a video stream is broken into short chunks and processed in parallel across orchestrators. AI inference runs machine learning model pipelines on video or audio inputs. AI workloads include image generation, real-time style transfer, video analysis, and multi-step pipelines that chain several models together. AI inference now accounts for the majority of network fee revenue and is the primary growth vector for the network. The two workload types can run from the same orchestrator infrastructure in a dual-workload configuration. They are distinct categories - not a single unified compute primitive - because their operational profiles, pricing, and client-side tooling differ.Economic model
Livepeer’s economic model has two income streams, separated by origin and token denomination. ETH fees flow from usage. When a gateway submits a video or AI job, it attaches probabilistic micropayment tickets denominated in ETH. Orchestrators redeem winning tickets on-chain via the TicketBroker contract. A portion of fees flows to delegators according to the orchestrator’s fee-share commission. Fee revenue tracks actual network demand. LPT inflation rewards flow from the protocol. Each round, the Minter contract issues new LPT at a governance-controlled rate and distributes it to active orchestrators in proportion to their delegated stake. Orchestrators distribute a portion to their delegators after taking their reward-cut commission. Inflation rewards bootstrap participation when fee revenue is insufficient to sustain the network independently. The governance-controlledtargetBondingRate parameter drives the inflation rate: when the fraction of LPT bonded across the network falls below the target, the inflation rate rises to attract more delegation; when it exceeds the target, the rate falls. Current parameter values are governance-controlled - verify against explorer.livepeer.org for live figures.
Governance model
Livepeer governance is stake-weighted and community-driven. LPT holders and delegators vote on Livepeer Improvement Proposals (LIPs) via the on-chain Governor contract on Arbitrum. A proposal requires a minimum participation quorum and a majority to pass. The Foundation does not control governance outcomes. LIPs are the formal mechanism for protocol changes: parameter updates, contract upgrades, treasury spending, and economic adjustments all go through the LIP process. Active proposals are tracked on the Livepeer Forum. Recent governance activity includes LIP-107 (emissions), LIP-100 (inflation bounds), and LIP-101 (treasury restart).Related pages
Protocol overview
The full mechanism detail: staking, delegation, probabilistic payments, slashing, and governance.
Network overview
The execution layer: orchestrators, gateways, job routing, and the marketplace.
Protocol economics
How ETH fees and LPT inflation flow through the system and who earns each.
Governance model
Stake-weighted voting, LIPs, the Governor contract, and the treasury.