# Abstract **Cluster Protocol** is a unified AI infrastructure layer for the decentralized web and an orchestration layer for autonomous workflows. It consolidates three foundational primitives - **AI** **model inference, tokenized data, and compute,** into a single orchestration platform with one API, one settlement layer, and **singular AI economy on Base (Ethereum L2)**. The platform provides an AI inference gateway serving 500+ AI models across multiple modalities (text, image, audio, embeddings, reranking), a tokenized data marketplace where datasets are stored on IPFS and ownership is represented as on-chain NFTs with automatic revenue distribution, and a compute layer that provisions GPU resources for custom model hosting and fine-tuning workloads. Payments across the stack are settled natively on Base via smart contracts, with support for x402, an HTTP-native micropayment protocol that enables AI agents and developers to pay per request without accounts, API keys, or pre-deposited balances. Coupled with a browser based IDE, an prompt-to-dApp application layer built on top of Cluster's infrastructure, enables anyone to create, deploy, and distribute fully on-chain applications using natural language, consuming Cluster inference, data, and compute natively in the process. This paper describes the architecture, components, and mechanisms of Cluster Protocol. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://cluster-protocol.gitbook.io/whitepaper/abstract.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.