Revenue model
Usage 43 percent, outcome 24, flat 24, per seat 20, and the mix moves toward outcomes with each founder cohort. Usage revenue tracks consumption the customer controls; outcome revenue tracks a definition the contract controls. Neither is ARR the way the comps assume.
The seat that bought
Founders enter through the business unit at 39 percent, the CTO at 36, the CFO at 28; operators say the CEO signs at 47 and the CFO's share rose to 43. A vendor whose top accounts never reached the CFO is carrying pilot revenue.
The customer's budget and date
A quarter of buyers cannot say which budget line AI sits in; 41 percent fund from net-new money, the first line cut. The buyer's CEO expects payback in six months and the buyer's CFO in six to twelve; the renewal conversation is with the CFO.
The buy side
Investors see measurable value at 86 percent and put ownership at the CEO at 51, 62 among partners. Named ownership and measured value travel together, which is what the buy side will ask the equity story to demonstrate.
What changes in October
The Ready for Anything instrument gives this seat first-party data for the first time: company stage, whether AI is in the equity story, share of revenue on usage or outcome pricing, and whether finance has signed off the payback case.
Who should read it
Who should read it: Investment bankers, equity capital-markets advisors, and corporate development teams building or reading an AI company's narrative.
Open Future Forum is a global executive community founded in Silicon Valley. Its network reaches tens of thousands of executives and investors worldwide. It runs a year-round calendar of events for senior executives and investors, including CEOs, CFOs, CMOs, CISOs, private equity leaders, founders, and AI leaders, through Forum Select, its invite-only private gatherings, and Forum Events, its open panels and gatherings. Beyond events, Open Future Forum convenes peer groups and executive boards and publishes original research built on first-party survey and qualitative data from its executive network. The research program draws directly from those rooms.
Read the What the September data means for investment banking and capital markets →
Open Future Forum is a global executive community founded in Silicon Valley, whose network reaches tens of thousands of executives and investors worldwide. Its research program, including the Executive AI Leverage Report and the role editions of the Enterprise AI Buying and Budget Index, is built on first-party survey data from executives attending Open Future Forum events.