01
July 2024 — Platform Snapshot
Blended Gross Margin
0%
Platform-wide · July 2024
Benchmark: 65–70% for AI SaaS
Benchmark: 65–70% for AI SaaS
Total Monthly COGS
$0
Across all 20 customers
GPU compute is ~65% of this
GPU compute is ~65% of this
Starter Tier Margin
0%
8 customers · Highest risk
Near breakeven unit economics
Near breakeven unit economics
Enterprise Tier Margin
0%
5 customers · Platform anchor
Subsidizes blended margin
Subsidizes blended margin
Mis-tiered Customers
0
Over usage ceiling for their tier
Monthly leakage: ~$96+
Monthly leakage: ~$96+
GPU Share of COGS
0%
Largest single cost driver
Advanced model inference
Advanced model inference
02
Gross Margin by Tier
Gross Margin % by Tier — July 2024
Challenge 03 output · Margin = (MRR − COGS) / MRR · Dashed line = 65% SaaS benchmark
65% benchmark (SaaS industry standard for AI platforms)
COGS Breakdown by Tier
Challenge 02 output · Each segment shows the cost component driving monthly COGS per tier
03
Cumulative COGS Trend — May to July 2024
Monthly COGS by Tier — SUM() OVER() Window Function Output
Challenge 06 output · Running COGS accumulation per tier · Numbers in USD
04
Tier Fit Analysis — CASE WHEN Output
Challenge 04 — Customer Tier Fit by Token Usage (July 2024)
CASE WHEN flags mis-tiered customers based on actual token usage vs. tier ceiling.
| Company | Current Tier | MRR | Tokens (M) | Tier Ceiling | Tier Fit | Est. Leakage/mo |
|---|
05
SQL Concepts Introduced
INNER JOIN
Match customers to usage — only paired rows returned
Cost × Rate
Dynamic COGS: usage columns × rate card via arithmetic
Gross Margin %
(MRR − COGS) / MRR — core SaaS unit economics formula
CASE WHEN
Multi-condition classification: tier fit, margin flags
RANK() OVER()
Window function: rank customers globally and by tier
SUM() OVER()
Running cumulative COGS by tier across months
CTE (WITH)
Multi-step logic: pre-calculate COGS before aggregating
06
Decision Enabled
// Board-Ready Finding
Starter tier unit economics are broken.
Repricing and overage enforcement are required before next fundraise.
Repricing and overage enforcement are required before next fundraise.
SQL analysis of Luminary AI's July 2024 infrastructure data reveals a blended gross margin of ~55% — below the 65–70% benchmark for AI SaaS. The Starter tier drives this deficit: at $500–600 MRR, GPU compute and overhead consume over 70% of revenue. One Growth customer (Skyline Marketing) is processing 20% above their token ceiling, generating $96/month in unrecovered COGS leakage. Enterprise customers (74% gross margin) are subsidizing platform profitability. The recommended path: reprice Starter to $750+, implement overage billing at $0.008/token above ceiling, and route ≥20% of standard inference calls away from advanced models — targeting a blended margin of 65% within two quarters.
⬆ Reprice Starter Tier to $750+/mo
⚡ Enforce Token Overage Billing
🔁 Route 20% Calls to Standard Model