diff --git a/paddleocr-service/main.py b/paddleocr-service/main.py
index 04b7e77..455136d 100644
--- a/paddleocr-service/main.py
+++ b/paddleocr-service/main.py
@@ -48,6 +48,13 @@ def _load_model():
                 logger.info(f"PaddleOCR init strategy {i} failed: {e}")
         else:
             raise RuntimeError("All PaddleOCR init strategies failed")
+        # Warmup: run a dummy OCR to trigger JIT compilation
+        # Without this, the first real request takes minutes on CPU
+        logger.info("Running warmup OCR (JIT compilation)...")
+        dummy = np.ones((50, 200, 3), dtype=np.uint8) * 255
+        _engine.ocr(dummy)
+        logger.info("Warmup complete")
+
         _ready = True
         logger.info("PaddleOCR model loaded successfully — ready to serve")
     except Exception as e: