Zuora Acquires Sub(x) to Offer AI-Driven Subscriber Insights

Subscription management company Zuora acquires Sub(x), an AI solution for media/publishing companies.

The acquisition will enable Zuora to transform its paywall offering into an artificial intelligence (AI)-based paywall solution to gain better insights into subscriber behavior, the companies said in a press release on Tuesday, June 18 .

“Today’s competitive media landscape and changing market dynamics have increased pressure to effectively monetize and accelerate revenue growth,” the release said. “This requires more dynamic systems and technologies capable of continuously adapting pricing and packaging strategies at scale. An existing method, such as propensity scoring, is static and does not update unless re-run with new data, which can hinder agility.

Introducing new offers, price changes, payment methods or plans can take days or even weeks, the release added, leading to missed opportunities and lost revenue.

Sub(x)’s AI uses reinforcement learning powered by first-party data that allows businesses to optimize conversion without the need for manual testing and experimentation, reducing the time and costs associated with this type of activity up to 90%.

“Sub(x) adds a cutting-edge AI layer to Zuora, enabling our customers to continuously learn, present the right offers, and continue to engage subscribers as preferences change over time,” said Zuora founder and CEO Tien Tzuo. “Welcoming Sub(x) to the Zuora team immediately expands our holistic solution for media companies, while accelerating the pace of our AI innovation across Zuora’s monetization suite.”

The announcement comes weeks after reports that Zuora was considering a sale and other options after at least one company expressed interest in acquiring it.

PYMNTS Intelligence research tracked growing consumer interest in subscriptions, with Gen Z leading the way.

“Zillennials are much more likely than the general population to hold season tickets,” PYMNTS wrote Tuesday. “Three-quarters of consumers in this bridge generation said they had paid at least one monthly subscription in the past month, compared to 63% of the overall sample.”

Members of this age group with additional income are most likely to seek subscriptions, as 84% ​​of high-income Gen Zers have made such a payment, compared to 76% of all income consumers students.

Additional findings from the PYMNTS Intelligence/sticky.io report “The Impact of Subscription Models on Consumer Choice” found that discounted top-up subscribers – those who commit to receiving products at a fixed cadence in exchange for a price reduction – want to be able to easily win subscription frequency changes, without having to unsubscribe first.

Data shows that these consumers are 12% more likely to cite this factor as the most important reason why they subscribe.