RevenueCat, a subscription management platform, has raised US$50 million in a series C funding round led by Bain Capital Ventures. Other investors included Index Ventures, Y Combinator, and Volo Ventures.

Headquartered in San Francisco, RevenueCat provides tools for app developers to manage pricing and subscriptions.

The company reported increasing demand for its services, especially from AI-based apps, which represent 20% of its top 20 apps, according to CEO Jacob Eiting.

RevenueCat has partnered with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT to mobile devices.

The rise of generative AI has created opportunities for platforms like RevenueCat to assist startups with managing subscription tiers.

RevenueCat plans to use the funding to expand its workforce and explore acquisitions.

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🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ App infrastructure companies are the silent enablers of the mobile AI revolution

RevenueCat’s rise illustrates how specialized infrastructure is fueling the AI app economy rather than just consumer-facing applications.

The company’s work with OpenAI to deploy ChatGPT on mobile after its 2022 debut demonstrates how even the most sophisticated AI companies rely on specialized payment infrastructure rather than building it themselves1.

This trend extends beyond RevenueCat, with 20% of their top 20 client apps being AI-based—these applications command higher fees and achieve better conversion rates compared to traditional apps1.

The $50 million funding round signals investor confidence in the “picks and shovels” approach to the AI gold rush, where infrastructure providers can benefit regardless of which specific AI applications ultimately succeed.

Case studies from RevenueCat’s platform reveal the significant engineering resources saved, with one company reporting over 6,000 engineering hours saved annually. This indicates why AI startups prefer specialized solutions over building payment systems in-house2.

2️⃣ Mobile monetization is evolving from one-time purchases to complex subscription models

RevenueCat’s expansion since its 2017 founding reflects the broader shift in how mobile applications generate revenue through increasingly sophisticated subscription models.

The platform now supports over 50,000 apps across multiple app stores, highlighting the massive scale of the subscription economy that has developed in less than a decade2.

This evolution is visible in RevenueCat’s technical documentation, which shows developers managing multiple subscription tiers, entitlements, and cross-platform purchases—complexities that barely existed in the early app economy3.

The company’s expansion into gaming with virtual currency features demonstrates how monetization strategies are converging across different app categories, with subscription models now influencing even traditionally microtransaction-based markets1.

For perspective, RevenueCat’s comprehensive tracking of over 15 key performance indicators (KPIs) for subscriptions illustrates how sophisticated the business of app monetization has become compared to the simpler paid download model that dominated the early App Store2.

3️⃣ Backend infrastructure companies benefit from cross-industry network effects

RevenueCat’s unique position serving multiple industries creates valuable data insights that strengthen their platform across all customer segments.

Their work with over 50,000 apps provides them with benchmark data across categories, allowing them to optimize subscription strategies based on patterns observed across their entire customer base2.

This cross-industry visibility is particularly valuable when entering new markets, such as their planned expansion into mobile gaming, where they can apply lessons learned from subscription apps to the virtual currency space1.

CEO Jacob Eiting’s statement that they “eventually hope to be as important in the game market as we are in the app market” highlights how infrastructure companies can leverage their core technology to expand horizontally across different industry segments1.

Their SOC2 certification and GDPR compliance represent significant barriers to entry for potential competitors, reinforcing how specialized infrastructure providers can create defensible positions by solving complex regulatory and technical challenges at scale2.

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