diff --git a/api/Dockerfile b/api/Dockerfile
index 1674a564..4efdd91e 100644
--- a/api/Dockerfile
+++ b/api/Dockerfile
@@ -20,9 +20,12 @@ RUN pip install --user --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt && \
 
 # Copy and install pipecat from local submodule
 COPY pipecat /tmp/pipecat
+COPY scripts/download_model.sh /tmp/download_model.sh
 RUN pip install --user --no-cache-dir '/tmp/pipecat[cartesia,deepgram,openai,elevenlabs,groq,google,azure,soundfile,silero,webrtc]' && \
-    # Clean up pip cache and temporary pipecat directory
-    rm -rf /root/.cache/pip /tmp/pipecat
+    # Copy Silero VAD model using dedicated script (before cleaning up pipecat source)
+    bash /tmp/download_model.sh && \
+    # Clean up pip cache and temporary files
+    rm -rf /root/.cache/pip /tmp/pipecat /tmp/download_model.sh
 
     
 # Remove unnecessary Python cache files from installed packages
diff --git a/scripts/download_model.sh b/scripts/download_model.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..480cde2e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/download_model.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Script to copy Silero VAD model during Docker build.
+# This ensures the model is available at runtime.
+
+set -e
+
+# Source model path from the pipecat installation
+SOURCE_MODEL_PATH="/tmp/pipecat/src/pipecat/audio/vad/data/silero_vad.onnx"
+
+# Target model path in the installed package
+USER_SITE=$(python -c "import site; print(site.getusersitepackages())")
+VAD_DATA_DIR="$USER_SITE/pipecat/audio/vad/data"
+TARGET_MODEL_PATH="$VAD_DATA_DIR/silero_vad.onnx"
+
+echo "Setting up Silero VAD model..."
+
+# Create the VAD data directory if it doesn't exist
+mkdir -p "$VAD_DATA_DIR"
+
+# Check if model already exists
+if [ -f "$TARGET_MODEL_PATH" ]; then
+    echo "✓ Silero VAD model already exists at: $TARGET_MODEL_PATH"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+# Check if source model exists
+if [ ! -f "$SOURCE_MODEL_PATH" ]; then
+    echo "✗ Source model not found at: $SOURCE_MODEL_PATH"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "Copying Silero VAD model from pipecat source..."
+
+# Copy the model file
+cp "$SOURCE_MODEL_PATH" "$TARGET_MODEL_PATH"
+
+# Verify the model file exists and get its size
+if [ -f "$TARGET_MODEL_PATH" ]; then
+    FILE_SIZE=$(stat -c%s "$TARGET_MODEL_PATH" 2>/dev/null || stat -f%z "$TARGET_MODEL_PATH" 2>/dev/null)
+    echo "✓ Silero VAD model successfully copied to: $TARGET_MODEL_PATH ($FILE_SIZE bytes)"
+else
+    echo "✗ Failed to copy model file to: $TARGET_MODEL_PATH"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "Silero VAD model setup complete!"
\ No newline at end of file