diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 894b4bcb05..4a790ce430 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -39,8 +39,45 @@
+---
-## Use LiteLLM for
+## What is LiteLLM
+
+LiteLLM is an open source AI Gateway that gives you a single, unified interface to call 100+ LLM providers — OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Bedrock, Azure, and more — using the OpenAI format.
+
+Use it as a **Python SDK** for direct library integration, or deploy the **AI Gateway (Proxy Server)** as a centralized service for your team or organization.
+
+[**Jump to LiteLLM Proxy (LLM Gateway) Docs**](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/simple_proxy)
+[**Jump to Supported LLM Providers**](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/providers)
+
+---
+
+## Why LiteLLM
+
+Managing LLM calls across providers gets complicated fast — different SDKs, auth patterns, request formats, and error types for every model. LiteLLM removes that friction:
+
+- **Unified API** — one interface for 100+ LLMs, no provider-specific SDK juggling
+- **Drop-in OpenAI compatibility** — swap providers without rewriting your code
+- **Production-ready gateway** — virtual keys, spend tracking, guardrails, load balancing, and an admin dashboard out of the box
+- **8ms P95 latency** at 1k RPS ([benchmarks](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/benchmarks))
+
+### OSS Adopters
+
+
+
+  |
+  |
+  |
+  |
+  |
+ Netflix |
+  |
+
+
+
+---
+
+## Features
LLMs - Call 100+ LLMs (Python SDK + AI Gateway)
@@ -223,63 +260,7 @@ curl -X POST 'http://0.0.0.0:4000/v1/chat/completions' \
----
-
-## How to use LiteLLM
-
-You can use LiteLLM through either the Proxy Server or Python SDK. Both gives you a unified interface to access multiple LLMs (100+ LLMs). Choose the option that best fits your needs:
-
-
-
-
- |
-LiteLLM AI Gateway |
-LiteLLM Python SDK |
-
-
-
-
-| Use Case |
-Central service (LLM Gateway) to access multiple LLMs |
-Use LiteLLM directly in your Python code |
-
-
-| Who Uses It? |
-Gen AI Enablement / ML Platform Teams |
-Developers building LLM projects |
-
-
-| Key Features |
-Centralized API gateway with authentication and authorization, multi-tenant cost tracking and spend management per project/user, per-project customization (logging, guardrails, caching), virtual keys for secure access control, admin dashboard UI for monitoring and management |
-Direct Python library integration in your codebase, Router with retry/fallback logic across multiple deployments (e.g. Azure/OpenAI) - Router, application-level load balancing and cost tracking, exception handling with OpenAI-compatible errors, observability callbacks (Lunary, MLflow, Langfuse, etc.) |
-
-
-
-
-LiteLLM Performance: **8ms P95 latency** at 1k RPS (See benchmarks [here](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/benchmarks))
-
-[**Jump to LiteLLM Proxy (LLM Gateway) Docs**](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/simple_proxy)
-[**Jump to Supported LLM Providers**](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/providers)
-
-**Stable Release:** Use docker images with the `-stable` tag. These have undergone 12 hour load tests, before being published. [More information about the release cycle here](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/proxy/release_cycle)
-
-Support for more providers. Missing a provider or LLM Platform, raise a [feature request](https://github.com/BerriAI/litellm/issues/new?assignees=&labels=enhancement&projects=&template=feature_request.yml&title=%5BFeature%5D%3A+).
-
-## OSS Adopters
-
-
-
-  |
-  |
-  |
-  |
-  |
- Netflix |
-  |
-
-
-
-## Supported Providers ([Website Supported Models](https://models.litellm.ai/) | [Docs](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/providers))
+### Supported Providers ([Website Supported Models](https://models.litellm.ai/) | [Docs](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/providers))
| Provider | `/chat/completions` | `/messages` | `/responses` | `/embeddings` | `/image/generations` | `/audio/transcriptions` | `/audio/speech` | `/moderations` | `/batches` | `/rerank` |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|-------------|--------------|---------------|----------------------|-------------------------|-----------------|----------------|-----------|-----------|
@@ -386,12 +367,49 @@ Support for more providers. Missing a provider or LLM Platform, raise a [feature
[**Read the Docs**](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/)
-## Run in Developer mode
-### Services
+---
+
+## Get Started
+
+You can use LiteLLM through either the Proxy Server or Python SDK. Both give you a unified interface to access multiple LLMs (100+ LLMs). Choose the option that best fits your needs:
+
+
+
+
+ |
+LiteLLM AI Gateway |
+LiteLLM Python SDK |
+
+
+
+
+| Use Case |
+Central service (LLM Gateway) to access multiple LLMs |
+Use LiteLLM directly in your Python code |
+
+
+| Who Uses It? |
+Gen AI Enablement / ML Platform Teams |
+Developers building LLM projects |
+
+
+| Key Features |
+Centralized API gateway with authentication and authorization, multi-tenant cost tracking and spend management per project/user, per-project customization (logging, guardrails, caching), virtual keys for secure access control, admin dashboard UI for monitoring and management |
+Direct Python library integration in your codebase, Router with retry/fallback logic across multiple deployments (e.g. Azure/OpenAI) - Router, application-level load balancing and cost tracking, exception handling with OpenAI-compatible errors, observability callbacks (Lunary, MLflow, Langfuse, etc.) |
+
+
+
+
+**Stable Release:** Use docker images with the `-stable` tag. These have undergone 12 hour load tests, before being published. [More information about the release cycle here](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/proxy/release_cycle)
+
+Support for more providers. Missing a provider or LLM Platform, raise a [feature request](https://github.com/BerriAI/litellm/issues/new?assignees=&labels=enhancement&projects=&template=feature_request.yml&title=%5BFeature%5D%3A+).
+
+### Run in Developer Mode
+#### Services
1. Setup .env file in root
2. Run dependant services `docker-compose up db prometheus`
-### Backend
+#### Backend
1. (In root) create virtual environment `python -m venv .venv`
2. Activate virtual environment `source .venv/bin/activate`
3. Install dependencies `pip install -e ".[all]"`
@@ -399,12 +417,12 @@ Support for more providers. Missing a provider or LLM Platform, raise a [feature
5. `prisma generate`
6. Start proxy backend `python litellm/proxy/proxy_cli.py`
-### Frontend
+#### Frontend
1. Navigate to `ui/litellm-dashboard`
2. Install dependencies `npm install`
3. Run `npm run dev` to start the dashboard
-# Verify Docker Image Signatures
+### Verify Docker Image Signatures
All LiteLLM Docker images published to GHCR are signed with [cosign](https://docs.sigstore.dev/cosign/overview/). Every release is signed with the same key introduced in [commit `0112e53`](https://github.com/BerriAI/litellm/commit/0112e53046018d726492c814b3644b7d376029d0).
@@ -430,6 +448,8 @@ cosign verify \
Replace `` with the version you are deploying (e.g. `v1.83.0-stable`).
+---
+
# Enterprise
For companies that need better security, user management and professional support
@@ -486,10 +506,6 @@ All these checks must pass before your PR can be merged.
- [Community Slack 💭](https://www.litellm.ai/support)
- Our emails ✉️ ishaan@berri.ai / krrish@berri.ai
-# Why did we build this
-
-- **Need for simplicity**: Our code started to get extremely complicated managing & translating calls between Azure, OpenAI and Cohere.
-
# Contributors