In episode #329, Ben Murray, The SaaS CFO, breaks down the growing debate around SaaS economics versus AI economics. A recent post claimed that “SaaS metrics are broken” and that traditional KPIs no longer apply to AI companies.

Ben challenges this idea and walks through why recurring revenue metrics still matter, how revenue models differ across SaaS and AI, and what CFOs need to understand about gross margin, unit economics, and total addressable market.

Key Topics Covered

Why claims that SaaS metrics are “broken” are inaccurate
The difference between SaaS economics and AI economics
Why recurring revenue metrics still apply to AI companies
How subscription versus usage revenue impacts KPI calculation
Gross margin expectations for SaaS vs. AI companies
Whether AI companies truly generate more profit per customer
The role of absolute profit versus per-customer economics
How AI may expand TAM by targeting labor budgets, not just software budgets
How Agentic AI affects financial modeling and cost structures
Using ROSE (Return on Software Employees) to evaluate AI-driven ROI

What You’ll Learn

Why SaaS metrics still matter for both SaaS and AI companies
How CFOs should evaluate margins, ARR, and revenue quality in AI models
The difference between rate-based economics (ARPA, ACV) and volume-based economics (absolute profit)
How to think about financial strategy when transitioning from a pure SaaS model to an AI-embedded product model
How to assess realistic AI unit economics instead of relying on hype

Who This Episode Is For

SaaS CFOs and finance leaders evaluating AI investments
Founders embedding AI into their product and adjusting their financial models
Operators who want a grounded understanding of real AI economics
Investors assessing how AI shifts revenue models and margins

Related Resources

Ben’s upcoming deep-dive blog post on SaaS vs. AI economics: TheSaaSCFO.com
SaaS Metrics Foundation course for mastering KPI’s, ARR, MRR, and unit economics: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/the-saas-metrics-foundation
ROSE metric framework for analyzing AI-driven productivity and financial systems: https://www.thesaascfo.com/saas-rose-metric/

Do You Know the Difference Between SaaS Math and AI Math?

SaaS Metrics School