TrustMRR data from 991 startups shows AI tools revenue growth slipping to -6%
marclou · x · 2026-07-27
I tracked 991 startups on TrustMRR and found that median month-over-month revenue growth has weakened since March.
- Median growth by month:
- Jan: baseline
- Feb: +9.0%
- Mar: -2.5%
- Apr: 0.0%
- May: -5.0%
- Jun: -1.4%
- Overall, the median startup is still up 1.6%, but the trend has turned down.
- By category, the winners are:
- Entertainment & Media: +72% (n=17)
- Education: +15% (n=69)
- Health & Fitness: +10% (n=36)
- Categories in decline include:
- Gaming: -16% (n=15)
- Creator Economy: -13% (n=51)
- E-commerce: -8% (n=25)
- AI tools: -6% (n=230)
The author argues that product choice matters more than ever because AI can make products obsolete quickly. They also note that TrustMRR and new DataFast verticals have kept growing despite the broader slowdown. The dataset only includes startups with 10+ payments every 30 days for the last six months, verified through providers such as Stripe, Creem, and RevenueCat.
More from Venture
- TesterArmy raises $1.2M pre-seed to build AI agents that test coding-agent-built apps — fernandorojo · 2026-09-23
- Snorkel AI triples valuation to $3.5B with $350M Series E as training data demand booms — TechCrunch AI · 2026-09-23
- Israeli-founded Venn acquires Zuma for $50M to expand AI property platform — Odd-Complex8103 · 2026-09-23
- Legal AI startup Legora hits $200M ARR, doubling in under six months — ycombinator · 2026-09-23
- Cloudflare says AI agent payments need more blockchain throughput than all of crypto combined — kleffew94 · 2026-09-23
- micro1 raises $100M+ at $4B valuation after ARR grew $7M to $500M in 18 months — annatonger · 2026-09-23