7. Financial Benchmarks
Revenue Multiples & Valuation Comparisons
Public Company Benchmarks (as of Q2 2025)
| Company | Ticker | Market Cap | 2025E Revenue | EV/Revenue | Gross Margin | Revenue Growth (YoY) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twilio | TWLO | $12.8B | $4.8B | 2.7× | 48% | 8% (slowing) |
| RingCentral | RNG | $3.2B | $2.4B | 1.3× | 72% | 6% |
| Bandwidth | BAND | $950M | $760M | 1.25× | 42% | 14% |
| NICE | NICE | $10.5B | $2.6B | 4.0× | 64% | 11% |
| Five9 | FIVN | $4.1B | $950M | 4.3× | 58% | 15% |
- CCaaS platforms (NICE, Five9): 4-4.3× revenue, reflecting SaaS stickiness
- CPaaS infrastructure (Twilio, Bandwidth): 1.3-2.7×, treated as commodity
- Gross margin differentiates: 70%+ = software, <50% = telco-like
| Company | Last Funding | Valuation | Revenue (est.) | Revenue Multiple | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Replicant | Series B (2023) | $700M | $30M ARR (est.) | 23× | Premium for AI-native, <1s latency |
| PolyAI | Series C (2024) | $500M | $20M ARR (est.) | 25× | 40-language model commands premium |
| Uniphore | Series E (2023) | $2.5B | $500M | 5× | India-based; lower multiple reflects emerging market discount |
| LiveKit | Series B (2024) | $300M | $10M ARR (est.) | 30× | OSS + enterprise; developer love premium |
| Daily | Growth (2023) | $200M (implied) | $6M ARR | 33× | Real-time infra scarcity value |
- Latency (<1s): 2-3× premium vs. >2s solutions
- Verticalization: BFSI/healthcare models command 1.5-2× generic
- Gross margin: >65% targets 20-30× ARR; <55% targets 5-10×
- Developer NPS: OSS-led or top developer satisfaction = 20-40% premium
Unit Economics: Best-in-Class Targets
Layer 1: SIP/Telephony
| Metric | Median | Top Quartile | Best-in-Class (Bandwidth) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 35% | 42% | 48% |
| CAC Payback | 8 months | 5 months | 3.2 months |
| Net Revenue Retention | 95% | 105% | 112% |
| Sales Efficiency (GTM/ARR) | 1.2 | 0.85 | 0.62 |
- BYOC enterprise contracts (multi-year, predictable)
- Value-added services attach (fraud detection, analytics)
- Usage growth from existing customers (NRR >100%)
Layer 2: CPaaS Infrastructure
| Metric | Median | Top Quartile | Best-in-Class (LiveKit) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 62% | 72% | 78% |
| CAC Payback | 6 months | 3 months | 2.1 months (OSS land) |
| LTV:CAC | 6× | 12× | 18× |
| Logo Retention | 88% | 93% | 96% |
- Developer-led growth (OSS, free tier, viral loops)
- Expansion revenue (usage scales with customer growth)
- Low-touch sales (PLG motion)
Layer 3: Voice AI Agents
| Metric | Median | Top Quartile | Best-in-Class (Replicant) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 60% | 70% | 74% |
| CAC Payback | 9 months | 5 months | 3.8 months |
| LTV:CAC | 12× | 20× | 28× |
| Dollar-Based NRR | 110% | 135% | 158% |
- Land-and-expand: Start with 1-2 use cases, grow to 10+
- Outcome pricing: Share in savings vs. fixed per-minute
- Vertical depth: Pre-built compliance playbooks (BFSI, healthcare)
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) by Segment
| Customer Segment | Avg Deal Size (ACV) | Typical CAC | CAC/ACV Ratio | Payback (Months) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMB (<100 seats) | $12k | $2.4k | 20% | 2.4 |
| Mid-Market (100-1000 seats) | $120k | $18k | 15% | 1.8 |
| Enterprise (>1000 seats) | $600k | $90k | 15% | 1.8 |
- Deal sizes: 40-60% of US equivalent (purchasing power)
- CAC: 30-50% of US (lower sales costs, inside sales model)
- Payback: Faster in India (1-2 months typical for mid-market)
Churn & Retention Benchmarks
Logo Churn (Annual)
| Company Type | SMB | Mid-Market | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| SIP/Telephony | 18-25% | 8-12% | 3-6% |
| CPaaS Infra | 15-22% | 6-10% | 2-5% |
| Voice AI Agents | 12-18% | 5-8% | 2-4% |
- Switching cost: Retraining models, re-integrating tools
- Vertical moats: Compliance playbooks hard to replicate
- Usage growth: AI handles more interactions over time (NRR >100%)
Net Revenue Retention (NRR)
Cohort-based NRR (Month 12):- Top Quartile Voice AI: 130-160%
- Median Voice AI: 105-120%
- Bottom Quartile: 85-100%
- Expansion triggers:
- Add new use cases (start with order status → add payment IVR)
- Geographic rollout (start US → expand India, LatAm)
- Increase automation % (20% → 40% of calls)
- Pricing levers:
- Volume tiers (unlock discounts at 5M min/month)
- Success fees (% of agent hours saved)
- Platform fees (per-user licensing for agent copilots)
Profitability Milestones
Path to EBITDA Positive (Typical Timeline)
| Metric | Seed/Series A | Series B | Series C+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARR | <$5M | $15-30M | $50M+ |
| Gross Margin | 50-60% | 60-70% | 65-75% |
| Sales & Marketing (% rev) | 80-120% | 50-70% | 35-50% |
| R&D (% rev) | 40-60% | 30-40% | 20-30% |
| G&A (% rev) | 25-35% | 15-20% | 10-15% |
| EBITDA Margin | -80% to -100% | -20% to -40% | 0% to +15% |
- Exotel: EBITDA+ in H2 FY24 at $54M revenue
- Route Mobile: Profitable at ₹4,023 Cr ($484M)
Rule of 40
Definition: Growth Rate (%) + EBITDA Margin (%) ≥ 40%| Company Tier | Growth | EBITDA Margin | Rule of 40 Score | Valuation Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyper-growth (Replicant, LiveKit) | 100-150% | -40% | 60-110 | Premium (20-30× ARR) |
| Efficient growth (Bandwidth) | 15% | 28% | 43 | Fair value (3-5× ARR) |
| Cash-gen (Twilio) | 8% | 18% | 26 | Discount (2-3× ARR) |
- Early (pre-$30M ARR): Prioritize growth (80-100%+), EBITDA -50%
- Scale ($30-100M ARR): Balance (40-60% growth, EBITDA -10% to +5%)
- Mature (>$100M ARR): Efficiency (20-30% growth, EBITDA +15-25%)