> ## 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.

# Livepeer Evolution

> A look at the Livepeer evolution from video to AI, to participatory governance and community driven development.

export const LinkArrow = ({href, label, description, newline = true, borderColor, className = '', style = {}, ...rest}) => {
  const linkArrowStyle = {
    display: 'inline-flex',
    alignItems: 'center',
    justifyContent: 'center',
    gap: "var(--lp-spacing-1)",
    width: 'fit-content',
    ...borderColor && ({
      borderColor
    })
  };
  return <span className={className} style={style} {...rest}>
      {newline && <br />}
      <span style={linkArrowStyle}>
        <a href={href} target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">
          {label}
        </a>
        <Icon icon="arrow-up-right" size={14} color="var(--lp-color-accent)" />
      </span>
      {description && description}
      {description && <div style={{
    height: "var(--lp-spacing-3)"
  }} />}
    </span>;
};

export const Image = ({src, alt = "", caption, icon, hint, fullwidth = true, className = "", style = {}, ...rest}) => {
  icon = icon ? icon : "arrow-turn-down-right";
  return <Frame caption={caption} hint={hint} className={className} style={style} {...rest}>
      <img src={src} alt={alt} style={{
    width: fullwidth ? "100%" : undefined
  }} />
    </Frame>;
};

export const YouTubeVideo = ({embedUrl, url, title = "", author = "", hint = "", caption, className = "", style = {}, ...rest}) => {
  const toEmbedUrl = value => {
    if (!value || typeof value !== "string") return "";
    const source = value.trim();
    if (!source) return "";
    try {
      const parsed = new URL(source);
      const host = parsed.hostname.replace(/^www\./, "");
      if (host === "youtube.com" || host === "youtube-nocookie.com") {
        if (parsed.pathname.startsWith("/embed/")) return source;
        const videoId = parsed.pathname.startsWith("/shorts/") ? parsed.pathname.split("/").filter(Boolean)[1] : parsed.searchParams.get("v");
        if (!videoId) return "";
        const params = new URLSearchParams(parsed.search);
        params.delete("v");
        const query = params.toString();
        return `https://www.youtube.com/embed/${videoId}${query ? `?${query}` : ""}`;
      }
      if (host === "youtu.be") {
        const videoId = parsed.pathname.split("/").filter(Boolean)[0];
        if (!videoId) return "";
        const query = parsed.searchParams.toString();
        return `https://www.youtube.com/embed/${videoId}${query ? `?${query}` : ""}`;
      }
    } catch (_err) {
      return "";
    }
    return "";
  };
  const resolvedEmbedUrl = toEmbedUrl(embedUrl || url);
  if (!resolvedEmbedUrl) {
    return null;
  }
  const isValidYouTubeUrl = resolvedEmbedUrl.includes("youtube.com/embed/");
  if (!isValidYouTubeUrl) {
    console.warn("Invalid YouTube embed URL:", embedUrl || url);
    return null;
  }
  const buildCaption = () => {
    if (caption) return caption;
    if (!author && !title) return null;
    return <span style={{
      display: "flex",
      flexDirection: "column",
      alignItems: "center",
      textAlign: "center",
      lineHeight: 1.2
    }}>
        <span>
          {author && <>
              <Icon icon="microphone" size={16} /> <strong>{author}</strong>
            </>}
          {author && title ? `${" "} • ${title}` : title}
        </span>
      </span>;
  };
  const captionContent = buildCaption();
  return <Frame className={className} style={style} {...hint ? {
    hint
  } : {}} {...captionContent ? {
    caption: captionContent
  } : {}} {...rest}>
      <iframe className="w-full aspect-video rounded-xl" src={resolvedEmbedUrl} title={title || author || "YouTube Video"} allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowFullScreen />
    </Frame>;
};

{/* <LinkArrow label="2025 and beyond" href="https://forum.livepeer.org/t/livepeer-inc-in-the-age-of-the-livepeer-foundation/2850" newline={false} /> */}

<YouTubeVideo embedUrl="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4xOuRIVLnv8?si=5Bq9ROCnp_JamVmf" author="Doug Petkanics" title="A Decade of Bleeding Edge Innovation" />

## Key Achievements

<Update label="2016-2017" description="" tags={["Livepeer Founded"]}>
  * Doug Petkanics and Eric Tang found Livepeer
  * Mission: decentralise the hardest layer of video infrastructure: transcoding - using crypto-economic incentives.
      <LinkArrow label="Livepeer Whitepaper" href="https://github.com/livepeer/wiki/blob/master/WHITEPAPER.md" />
</Update>

<Update label="2018" description="Network Launch">
  * Livepeer Protocol launches on Ethereum.
  * First decentralised marketplace for video transcoding goes live.
      <LinkArrow label="Mainnet Launch" href="https://blog.livepeer.org/livepeer-is-live/" />
</Update>

<Update label="2019-2020" tags={["Production Validation"]}>
  * Network proves it can deliver lower-cost, reliable transcoding at scale.
  * Orchestrator + Delegator model stabilizes supply and quality.
      <LinkArrow label="Architecture & Incentives" href="https://blog.livepeer.org/how-livepeer-works/" />
</Update>

<Update label="2021" tags={["Network Adoption"]}>
  * Major platforms and apps use Livepeer for production workloads.
  * Livepeer Inc. Productizes access (APIs) while the network keeps running permissionlessly.
      <LinkArrow label="Network Adoption" href="https://blog.livepeer.org/category/use-cases/" />
</Update>

<Update label="2022" tags={["Video-first Conviction"]}>
  * Livepeer doubles down on video-native infra, resisting the “generic GPU cloud” path.
  * Early exploration of video + ML workloads.
      <LinkArrow label="Video + ML" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mJZ2c9wq9A" />
</Update>

<Update label="2023" tags={["AI Integration"]}>
  * Livepeer introduces AI-first Gateways, combining video & AI workloads.
  * First real-time AI video pipelines demonstrated on the network.
  * Founders outline a vision for AI-first infrastructure.
      <LinkArrow label="AI-first Gateways" href="https://blog.livepeer.org/introducing-ai-inference-on-livepeer/" />
</Update>

<Update label="2024" tags={["Cascade Vision"]}>
  * Public articulation of Livepeer’s shift to real-time AI video infrastructure (“Cascade”).
  * Orchestrators upgrade hardware; inference becomes a first-class workload.
      <LinkArrow label="Cascade Vision: AI Video Compute" href="https://blog.livepeer.org/introducing-livepeer-cascade-a-vision-for-livepeers-future-in-the-age-of-real-time-ai-video/" />
</Update>

<Update label="2025" tags={["Foundation Launch", "Product Proof", "Daydream Launch"]}>
  * Livepeer Foundation launched to steward the network’s long-term growth.
  * First Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) formed: AI SPE, Cloud SPE.
  * Daydream launches (real-time AI video creation).
  * ComfyStream / ComfyUI integration enables visual, real-time AI workflows.
  * Majority of network fees now driven by AI inference, beyond transcoding.
      <LinkArrow label="Livepeer Foundation" href="https://blog.livepeer.org/livepeer-foundation-is-live/" />
</Update>

<Update label="2026" tags={["Where Livepeer is Today"]}>
  * Livepeer recognised as the open, real-time AI layer for video.
  * Differentiation is clear: low-latency streaming + AI inference at scale, powered by a decentralised GPU network.
      <LinkArrow label="Livepeer Roadmap" href="https://roadmap.livepeer.org/roadmap" />
</Update>

## Livepeer Development Stages

<Image src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/livepeer/docs/docs-v2-assets/snippets/assets/domain/00_HOME/evolution.png" alt="Evolution of Livepeer" caption="Evolution of the Livepeer Network" href="/v2/home/about/roadmap" arrow />

Livepeer’s development has been marked by six key phases:

<Update label="Snowmelt" description="April 30, 2018" tags={["Livepeer Alpha Launches"]}>
  * Proposed in [LIP-1](https://github.com/livepeer/LIPs/blob/main/LIPs/LIP-0001.md) and went live in April 2018.
  * Marked the launch of Livepeer Alpha on Ethereum mainnet.
  * The first functional version of the network-enabled basic video broadcasting and the generation of LPT rewards from an initial total token supply of 10 million LPT at Genesis.
</Update>

<Update label="Tributary" description="Aug. 23, 2018" tags={["Developer Enabling"]}>
  * Proposed in [LIP-10](https://github.com/livepeer/LIPs/blob/main/LIPs/LIP-0010.md) and went live in August 2018.
  * Enabled developers to build on Livepeer’s video infrastructure and addressed major pain points identified in the protocol’s first iteration.
</Update>

<Update label="Streamflow" description="Jan. 17, 2020" tags={["Scalability & Micropayments"]}>
  * Proposed in May 2019 in [LIP-30](https://github.com/livepeer/LIPs/blob/main/LIPs/LIP-0030.md) and went live in January 2020.
  * Expanded the network’s node capacity from 25 to 100, introduced the “Transcoder” role, splitting the original Orchestrator role to drive network efficiency and performance.
  * This upgrade also introduced Probabilistic Micropayments and offchain job negotiations.
</Update>

<Update label="Confluence" description="Feb. 15, 2022" tags={["Layer 2"]}>
  * Initially proposed in September 2021 in [LIP-80](https://github.com/livepeer/LIPs/blob/main/LIPs/LIP-0080.md) and went live in February 2022.
  * This upgrade deployed Livepeer on Arbitrum, moving the protocol’s functionalities to the Layer-2 network.
  * This significantly reduced the protocol’s gas fees and offered faster transactions to network participants.
</Update>

<Update label="Delta" description="Oct. 13, 2023" tags={["Onchain Treasury"]}>
  * Proposed in April 2023, Livepeer Delta went live in October 2023 following the passing of [LIP-91](https://github.com/livepeer/LIPs/blob/main/LIPs/LIP-0091.md).
  * This upgrade deployed a community-governed onchain treasury for the protocol Livepeer.
  * It also introduced new parameters to Livepeer’s staking contract that routes a portion of LPT’s inflationary emissions to the treasury, which is used to fund Public goods.
</Update>

<Update label="Cascade" description="Current" tags={["AI-first Gateways"]}>
  * Proposed in May 2025 in [LIP-100](https://github.com/livepeer/LIPs/blob/main/LIPs/LIP-0100.md).
  * This upgrade introduces AI-first Gateways, combining video & AI workloads.
  * Supporting custom AI models and job types, allowing AI developers to utilise its global GPU network for both video-specific and broader applications.
</Update>