026 - Reinventing Live Video: AI and Decentralization with Doug Petkanics, Founder, Livepeer

Explore the future of live video with Doug Petkanics, founder of Livepeer. In this episode of "Pitch, Build, Scale", Doug shares his journey from early startups to building Livepeer’s decentralized video infrastructure, which slashes streaming costs and empowers developers to escape cloud monopolies. We dig into Daydream, Livepeer’s real-time AI video tool that transforms livestreams on the fly with text prompts, and why decentralized compute is key to innovation.Doug reveals:- The economics of live video and how decentralization changes the game.- Why Daydream’s real-time AI transforms creative workflows.- How regulatory fears threaten AI progress—and how decentralization preserves open innovation.- The grand experiment of building a community-owned video infrastructure network.If you’re a SaaS founder or tech leader exploring AI, blockchain, or video streaming, don’t miss this.ResourcesExplore decentralized video streaming with Livepeer: https://livepeer.orgWitness live AI video modification at Daydream: https://daydream.liveGrow your revenue with Big North Marketing: https://BigNorthMarketing.comChapters00:00 Introduction to LivePeer and Doug Petkanics01:45 Doug's Journey into Technology and Entrepreneurship03:33 Founding LivePeer and the Vision for Open Video Infrastructure06:27 The Economics of Video Streaming and Decentralization09:03 Current State of LivePeer and User Base11:19 AI Integration and Real-Time Video Processing14:37 Decentralization's Role in AI and Innovation18:18 Challenges of Regulation and Innovation22:53 Future of AI and Decentralization24:45 Goals for LivePeer in the Next 12-18 Months28:17 Ethics and Concerns of AI Technology31:56 Final Thoughts and Where to Find LivePeer