Why we built ModelRoute: The case for provider-opaque AI infrastructure

Every company integrating AI models ends up building the same infrastructure: provider SDKs, credential management, error normalization, billing reconciliation, file handling, and retry logic.

We've seen this pattern repeat across dozens of teams. A startup picks OpenAI. Then they need Anthropic for some use cases. Then a video model from Runway. Each provider has its own SDK, its own error codes, its own billing, its own way of handling files.

Before long, the "AI integration" is 10x more code than the actual product logic.

The Stripe analogy

When Stripe launched, every company was building their own payment integration. Direct bank APIs, PCI compliance, acquirer management, fraud detection. Stripe said: "Just send us the charge. We'll handle the rest."

ModelRoute is the same idea for AI execution.

You send us a canonical request — a model slug, an input payload, and a webhook URL. We select the best provider, translate your payload, execute the work, normalize the output, re-host any files on our CDN, and deliver results via HMAC-signed webhook.

You never see which provider ran your request. You don't manage provider credentials. You don't write error mapping code. You don't reconcile multiple bills.

What we handle

• **Provider routing**: We select the provider based on availability, cost, and capability.
• **Payload translation**: Your canonical input is translated to the provider's format automatically.
• **Billing**: Hold-before-execute. We reserve funds before work starts and settle on completion.
• **File handling**: Upload once. Providers get short-lived presigned URLs. Output is re-hosted with opaque references.
• **Error normalization**: 12 canonical error codes across every provider.
• **Resilience**: Circuit breakers, per-provider bulkheads, and webhook retry with exponential backoff.

Who it's for

ModelRoute is for anyone who needs AI execution without the infrastructure overhead:

• **Enterprises** that need predictable billing, audit trails, and team access control.
• **AI agents** that need reliable async execution with webhook-driven results.
• **Builders** who want to ship products, not manage provider SDKs.
• **Creators** who want to generate content without dealing with API complexity.

We're building the infrastructure layer so you can focus on what matters: your product.