> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.livepeer.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# SPE Grant Model for Gateway Operators

> How Gateway operators access Livepeer treasury funding through the Special Purpose Entity (SPE) grant model - what SPEs are, what has been funded, and how to propose one.

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{/*
PURPOSE:
Journey step: "How do treasury-funded gateways work?"
Guide for operators interested in the SPE (Special Purpose Entity) grant model
for running public gateway infrastructure. Covers the grant programme, cloud SPE
gateway model, application process, and sustainability.

SECTION HOME: Guides → Opportunities

JOURNEY POSITION:
1. Operator Opportunities Overview  - "Why is this an opportunity?"
2. NaaP & Multi-Tenancy  - "The platform business model"
3. SPE & Grant Models (this page)  - "Treasury-funded gateways"
4. Community Projects & Ecosystem  - "What others have built"

RELATED FILES (draw from):
- all-resources/support-ops--spe-grant-model.mdx             - PRIMARY (90%): 175 lines. SPE grant program, cloud SPE gateway model, governance, application process.
- all-resources/old--spe-grant-model.mdx                     - SECONDARY (20%): 16 lines. Original stub.
- all-resources/v2-providers--cloud-spe-gateway.mdx          - SECONDARY (40%): Cloud SPE gateway provider page.
- all-resources/v2-providers--choosing-a-gateway.mdx         - SECONDARY (20%): Gateway provider comparison.
- all-resources/opportunities--research-sources.md           - REFERENCE: REVIEW flags for SPE governance quorum.

CROSS-REFS:
- Opportunities Overview (this section)  - business context for grant-funded operation
- Community Projects & Ecosystem (this section)  - projects funded via grants
- Payments & Pricing → Fund Your Gateway  - deposit mechanics for grant-funded gateways
- Resources → Gateway Providers  - cloud-spe-gateway as an example of SPE output
*/}

<CustomDivider style={{margin: "-1rem 0 -1rem 0"}} />

Some Livepeer Gateway operators are funded by the Livepeer treasury through a Special Purpose Entity (SPE) grant. This model lets ecosystem contributors run Gateways that serve the broader network - public access, new capabilities, increased demand - without needing a commercial revenue stream to cover operating costs from day one.

<CustomDivider style={{margin: "-1rem 0 -2rem 0"}} />

## What is an SPE?

A Special Purpose Entity (SPE) is an organisation funded by the Livepeer treasury through a governance proposal. SPEs are purpose-built: each one has a defined mandate, a requested budget, and milestones it is accountable to deliver.

The treasury is funded by LPT inflation. Token holders vote on SPE proposals. Approved SPEs receive LPT (or equivalent), which they use to fund operations  - including running infrastructure like Gateways.

<Note>
  SPE grants are not grants to individual developers. They fund organisations with a defined public benefit mandate. If you are an individual developer looking to experiment, the AI Video Startup Programme is the more appropriate route.
</Note>

<CustomDivider style={{margin: "-1rem 0 -2rem 0"}} />

## SPEs operating Gateways today

<StyledTable variant="bordered">
  <thead>
    <TableRow header>
      <TableCell header>SPE</TableCell>
      <TableCell header>Gateway mandate</TableCell>
      <TableCell header>What it runs</TableCell>
    </TableRow>
  </thead>

  <tbody>
    <TableRow>
      <TableCell>**Livepeer Cloud SPE**</TableCell>
      <TableCell>Public Gateway access and ecosystem adoption</TableCell>
      <TableCell>Free RTMP video Gateway and AI inference Gateway at `livepeer.cloud`. Gateway tutorials, operator support, community tooling (`tools.livepeer.cloud`).</TableCell>
    </TableRow>

    <TableRow>
      <TableCell>**LLM SPE**</TableCell>
      <TableCell>LLM inference routing on the Livepeer Network</TableCell>
      <TableCell>A specialised AI Gateway routing LLM workloads to GPU operators on the Livepeer Network.</TableCell>
    </TableRow>

    <TableRow>
      <TableCell>**NaaP SPE** *(in development)*</TableCell>
      <TableCell>Network as a Platform  - multi-tenant Gateway with auth and billing</TableCell>
      <TableCell>The NaaP dashboard (`github.com/livepeer/naap`): JWT-based auth, Developer API Keys, usage metering. Building the clearinghouse reference implementation.</TableCell>
    </TableRow>
  </tbody>
</StyledTable>

<CustomDivider style={{margin: "-1rem 0 -2rem 0"}} />

## What the SPE model enables for Gateway operators

Running a Gateway as an SPE differs from commercial Gateway operation in one key way: your revenue comes from the treasury, not from customers. This makes it viable to:

* Run **public Gateways at no cost to developers**  - lowering the barrier for new builders to try Livepeer
* Operate **specialised Gateways** (LLM-only, BYOC, specific model sets) that serve an ecosystem gap instead of a mass market
* **Build Gateway infrastructure** (tooling, dashboards, clearinghouse components) that the whole ecosystem benefits from, where a commercial return is indirect or long-term

In exchange, the SPE is accountable to token holders via milestone reporting and periodic renewal proposals.

<CustomDivider style={{margin: "-1rem 0 -2rem 0"}} />

## What makes a fundable SPE proposal

Successful SPE proposals in the Gateway space share a few characteristics:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Clear public benefit, beyond business benefit">
    The treasury funds work that benefits the network as a whole. A proposal to run a private Gateway for your own product will not receive funding. A proposal to run a free public Gateway that lowers barriers for ecosystem adoption  - like Cloud SPE  - is fundable.

    The question to answer in a proposal: "If this SPE did not exist, what would the Livepeer ecosystem lose?"
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Defined, verifiable milestones">
    Proposals include specific deliverables with timelines. For Gateway SPEs this typically means: uptime commitments for public Gateways, volume metrics (requests served, new developers onboarded), or specific infrastructure shipped (tooling, dashboards, documentation).

    Vague commitments ("we will grow the ecosystem") do not pass scrutiny. Specific ones ("we will maintain 99.5% uptime on a public AI inference Gateway for 6 months and serve N developers") do.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Realistic budget tied to operational costs">
    Budgets are scrutinised against infrastructure costs. A proposal requesting 18 months of server costs for a public Gateway, with engineering time for tooling built on top, is reasonable. A proposal with no cost breakdown will not build confidence.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A team with demonstrated capability">
    The most successful SPEs come from teams that have already shipped something: a working Gateway, a community tool, or documented contributions to the ecosystem. A first proposal from a team with no Livepeer track record faces a higher bar.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<CustomDivider style={{margin: "-1rem 0 -2rem 0"}} />

## How to propose an SPE

<Steps>
  <Step title="Engage the community first">
    Before writing a formal proposal, discuss your idea in the `#governance` Discord channel and on the [Livepeer Forum](https://forum.livepeer.org). Temperature-checking with the community before spending time on a full proposal saves everyone time. Foundation BD is also a useful first contact for alignment.

    Look at existing approved SPE proposals on the Forum to understand the expected format and level of detail.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Write the proposal">
    A Gateway SPE proposal typically includes:

    * **Problem statement:** What gap in the ecosystem does this address?
    * **Mandate:** What will the SPE do? What will it explicitly not do?
    * **Deliverables and milestones:** Specific, measurable, time-bound
    * **Budget:** Broken down by category (infrastructure, engineering, operations). Requested in LPT or USD-equivalent.
    * **Team:** Who is running this? What have they built before?
    * **Success metrics:** How will token holders know if this worked?
    * **Reporting cadence:** How often will the SPE report progress?
  </Step>

  <Step title="Post to the Forum">
    Proposals are posted as threads on the [Livepeer Forum](https://forum.livepeer.org) for community discussion. Allow at least two weeks for community feedback before moving to an on-chain vote. Respond to questions and revise based on feedback  - this is expected.
  </Step>

  <Step title="On-chain governance vote">
    Once the Forum discussion has reached rough consensus, the proposal moves to an on-chain vote through the Livepeer governance contract on Arbitrum. LPT holders (and their delegates) vote. Threshold and quorum requirements apply.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Execute and report">
    Approved SPEs receive funding and begin execution. Most proposals include a reporting cadence  - typically monthly or quarterly updates posted to the Forum. Renewal proposals are submitted at the end of the initial period based on milestone completion.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<CustomDivider style={{margin: "-1rem 0 -2rem 0"}} />

## SPE vs AI Video Startup Programme

These are two different things serving different purposes:

|                    | **SPE grant**                                                    | **AI Video Startup Programme**                                             |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **For**            | Organisations building public-benefit Gateway infrastructure     | Individual developers or startups building AI-powered products on Livepeer |
| **Funding source** | LPT treasury                                                     | Foundation budget                                                          |
| **Accountability** | On-chain governance + milestone reporting                        | Foundation programme management                                            |
| **Timeline**       | Multi-month proposals with defined terms                         | Programme cohort                                                           |
| **Suitable for**   | Public Gateways, ecosystem tooling, clearinghouse infrastructure | App development, using (not necessarily running) Livepeer                  |

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## Further reading

* Livepeer Forum (proposals and discussion): [forum.livepeer.org](https://forum.livepeer.org)
* Livepeer governance overview: see the Community and Governance tab in these docs
* Cloud SPE Gateway and tutorials: [Livepeer.cloud](https://livepeer.cloud)
* NaaP dashboard reference implementation: [github.com/Livepeer/naap](https://github.com/livepeer/naap)

<CustomDivider style={{margin: "-1rem 0 -2rem 0"}} />

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Opportunities Overview" icon="chart-line" href="/v2/gateways/guides/roadmap-and-funding/operator-support">
    Commercial business models for Gateway operators who do not need treasury funding.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Community & Ecosystem" icon="globe" href="/v2/gateways/guides/roadmap-and-funding/gateway-showcase">
    Production projects and tools built by SPE-funded and independent Gateway operators.
  </Card>

  <Card title="NaaP & Multi-Tenancy" icon="users" href="/v2/gateways/guides/roadmap-and-funding/naap-multi-tenancy">
    The NaaP SPE reference implementation  - multi-tenant Gateway with auth and billing.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>