diff --git a/packages/ai/src/bridge.ts b/packages/ai/src/bridge.ts
index c54ab084..51721907 100644
--- a/packages/ai/src/bridge.ts
+++ b/packages/ai/src/bridge.ts
@@ -330,6 +330,44 @@ export function shutdownDispatcher(): void {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Eagerly start the Python dispatcher and wait for its readiness signal.
+ * Returns the GPU status once ready, or {ready: false} on timeout/failure.
+ * Safe to call multiple times -- idempotent if the dispatcher is already running.
+ */
+export function initDispatcher(timeoutMs = 30_000): Promise<{ ready: boolean; gpu: boolean }> {
+  if (dispatcherReady) {
+    return Promise.resolve({ ready: true, gpu: dispatcherGpuAvailable });
+  }
+  if (dispatcherFailed) {
+    return Promise.resolve({ ready: false, gpu: false });
+  }
+
+  const proc = getDispatcher();
+  if (!proc) {
+    return Promise.resolve({ ready: false, gpu: false });
+  }
+
+  return new Promise((resolve) => {
+    const timer = setTimeout(() => {
+      clearInterval(poll);
+      resolve({ ready: false, gpu: false });
+    }, timeoutMs);
+
+    const poll = setInterval(() => {
+      if (dispatcherReady) {
+        clearTimeout(timer);
+        clearInterval(poll);
+        resolve({ ready: true, gpu: dispatcherGpuAvailable });
+      } else if (dispatcherFailed) {
+        clearTimeout(timer);
+        clearInterval(poll);
+        resolve({ ready: false, gpu: false });
+      }
+    }, 50);
+  });
+}
+
 // ── Per-request fallback (original implementation) ──────────────────
 
 function runPythonPerRequest(
diff --git a/packages/ai/src/index.ts b/packages/ai/src/index.ts
index 2e3c4c4a..a750aa3a 100644
--- a/packages/ai/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/ai/src/index.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,11 @@
 export { removeBackground } from "./background-removal.js";
 export type { DispatcherStatus } from "./bridge.js";
-export { getDispatcherStatus, isGpuAvailable, shutdownDispatcher } from "./bridge.js";
+export {
+  getDispatcherStatus,
+  initDispatcher,
+  isGpuAvailable,
+  shutdownDispatcher,
+} from "./bridge.js";
 export { colorize } from "./colorization.js";
 export type { DetectFacesResult, FaceRegion } from "./face-detection.js";
 export { blurFaces, detectFaces } from "./face-detection.js";
diff --git a/tests/unit/ai/bridge.test.ts b/tests/unit/ai/bridge.test.ts
index df56142b..d4bb652a 100644
--- a/tests/unit/ai/bridge.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/ai/bridge.test.ts
@@ -1127,3 +1127,94 @@ describe("bridge - dispatcher lifecycle via runPythonWithProgress", () => {
     expect(callCount).toBe(3);
   });
 });
+
+describe("bridge - initDispatcher", () => {
+  let initDispatcher: typeof import("../../../packages/ai/src/bridge.js").initDispatcher;
+  let getDispatcherStatus: typeof import("../../../packages/ai/src/bridge.js").getDispatcherStatus;
+  let shutdownDispatcher: typeof import("../../../packages/ai/src/bridge.js").shutdownDispatcher;
+
+  beforeEach(async () => {
+    vi.resetModules();
+    vi.mocked(spawn).mockReset();
+
+    const mod = await import("../../../packages/ai/src/bridge.js");
+    initDispatcher = mod.initDispatcher;
+    getDispatcherStatus = mod.getDispatcherStatus;
+    shutdownDispatcher = mod.shutdownDispatcher;
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    shutdownDispatcher();
+    vi.restoreAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it("resolves with ready=true and gpu status after dispatcher emits readiness", async () => {
+    const mock = createMockProcess();
+    vi.mocked(spawn).mockReturnValue(mock.process);
+
+    const promise = initDispatcher();
+
+    // Dispatcher emits readiness signal
+    mock.stderr.emit("data", Buffer.from('{"ready": true, "gpu": true}\n'));
+
+    const result = await promise;
+    expect(result).toEqual({ ready: true, gpu: true });
+    expect(getDispatcherStatus().ready).toBe(true);
+    expect(getDispatcherStatus().gpu).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("resolves with ready=false when dispatcher fails with ENOENT", async () => {
+    const mock = createMockProcess();
+    vi.mocked(spawn).mockReturnValue(mock.process);
+
+    const promise = initDispatcher();
+
+    const err = new Error("spawn ENOENT") as NodeJS.ErrnoException;
+    err.code = "ENOENT";
+    mock.emitEvent("error", err);
+
+    const result = await promise;
+    expect(result).toEqual({ ready: false, gpu: false });
+  });
+
+  it("resolves with ready=false after timeout when dispatcher never signals ready", async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    const mock = createMockProcess();
+    vi.mocked(spawn).mockReturnValue(mock.process);
+
+    const promise = initDispatcher(500);
+
+    vi.advanceTimersByTime(600);
+
+    const result = await promise;
+    expect(result).toEqual({ ready: false, gpu: false });
+
+    vi.useRealTimers();
+  });
+
+  it("resolves with gpu=false when dispatcher reports no GPU", async () => {
+    const mock = createMockProcess();
+    vi.mocked(spawn).mockReturnValue(mock.process);
+
+    const promise = initDispatcher();
+
+    mock.stderr.emit("data", Buffer.from('{"ready": true, "gpu": false}\n'));
+
+    const result = await promise;
+    expect(result).toEqual({ ready: true, gpu: false });
+  });
+
+  it("is idempotent -- second call returns same result without respawning", async () => {
+    const mock = createMockProcess();
+    vi.mocked(spawn).mockReturnValue(mock.process);
+
+    const promise1 = initDispatcher();
+    mock.stderr.emit("data", Buffer.from('{"ready": true, "gpu": true}\n'));
+    await promise1;
+
+    const result2 = await initDispatcher();
+    expect(result2).toEqual({ ready: true, gpu: true });
+    // spawn should only have been called once
+    expect(spawn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+});