Run a Node
Two roles for contributing useful work to the network. Worker payouts are live; validator rewards are not.
| AI Worker Node | Validator Node | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Text open; managed media qualification-gated | Public evidence-only preview |
| Stake | Not required; future bond amount/policy not finalized | Not required; validator staking is disabled |
| What you do | Serve compatible generation jobs from an existing backend | Run assigned worker checks and sign the evidence |
| Hardware | Depends on the model and runtime | Modest CPU + bandwidth; no GPU required in the preview |
| Earnings | Current hourly AIPG budget, pro-rata to den | None in the preview |
| Risk | None today; future bond risk for objective fraud | No routing, reward, strike, stake, or slash authority |
Worker bonding and validator staking are part of the Base-backed roadmap. The current worker path does not require stake, and the first validator release is evidence-only.
AI Worker Nodes (Live)
If you already run an AI backend, a Grid worker can connect its explicitly selected capacity to the network. The worker receives compatible jobs, calls your runtime, and returns the result. The current hourly rail pays AIPG pro-rata to recorded den work units.
The public text worker is open. An existing ComfyUI installation does not make arbitrary models or workflows immediately eligible for paid Grid work; media capabilities remain bound to supported recipes and the current qualification process.
The worker bond (planned, not yet required)
Running a worker today does not require a stake. A bonding mechanism is in
development: workers may later stake to the
WorkerRegistry Diamond facet. The amount and rollout policy are not finalized.
This would be collateral, not a fee.
As long as you serve honest results, your stake stays untouched and you can
withdraw it whenever you stop running the worker.
Once the bond ships, validator evidence can first lower routing trust and caps. Slashing should come later, only for objective fraud with assignment-bound evidence, quorum, and a dispute path.
What you earn
The live rail distributes a fixed AIPG period budget pro-rata to den, so there is no guaranteed fixed token amount per request. Your share depends on the den accepted for your completed jobs relative to the accepted den of other eligible workers in the same payout period. Workload, model availability, routing, and the period budget can change. Historical jobs or payouts are not an earnings forecast.
Payout history is visible on console.aipowergrid.io/transparency. A USD-denominated, multi-asset payout rail is designed in core but is not active; do not select USDC/ETH/USDS expecting the current payout CLI to honor it.
Validator Nodes (Public Preview)
If you want to help secure the network rather than provide compute, validator nodes are the audit role. The first release is intentionally low-authority: validators receive short-lived assignments, sign evidence, and feed dashboards while the Grid hardens targeted assignments, reference checks, and quorum.
Authority: evidence only. Validator rewards, routing influence, staking, strikes, and slashing are disabled. The preview is for proving independent operation and hardening the evidence protocol before economics are attached.
Hardware: Modest. The preview does not re-execute worker models, so it does not need a worker-grade GPU. A reliable machine with stable bandwidth is enough.
The desktop operator path installs the verified preview, opens the local app, and uses Set up node to create a dedicated validator account and local signing identity. Then Start validator begins the assignment loop. It does not require Google or GitHub login, a funded wallet, or pasted private-key material. Existing operators preserve their node identity when upgrading.