GMV
Gross Merchandise Value measures total transaction value flowing through a platform · relevant for AI marketplaces (model routers, MCP registries, agent marketplaces).
Gross Merchandise Value measures total transaction value flowing through a platform · relevant for AI marketplaces (model routers, MCP registries, agent marketplaces).
Basic
GMV is the total dollar value of goods/services transacted on a platform before fees. OpenRouter's GMV is the total dollar value of LLM tokens routed, not its own take. Replicate's GMV includes model inference calls. Fastino + HF Inference Endpoints also track GMV. Unlike revenue (the platform's take), GMV measures network scale.
Deep
GMV matters for marketplaces because network effects scale with transaction volume, not with platform take rate. OpenRouter's revenue is <5% of its GMV but the GMV flows determine which providers care to integrate. A marketplace at $1B GMV with 3% take rate ($30M revenue) often trades higher than a pure product with $30M ARR because GMV signals ecosystem power. This is why AI marketplace valuations can look inflated on pure revenue.
Expert
GMV accounting differences: gross (includes refunds, fraud) vs net (post-refunds). Platform take rates in AI marketplaces vary wildly · OpenRouter ~3-5%, Replicate ~10-30% depending on tier, HF Endpoints platform margin ~20%. Investors increasingly ask for "take rate × GMV retention" as the cleaner signal. Marketplace pricing power ceiling is ~30% take (Apple App Store, Amazon) · AI marketplaces are well below, suggesting margin expansion room.
Depending on why you're here
- ·Total transaction volume · not platform revenue
- ·Network scale metric for marketplaces
- ·Revenue = GMV × take rate
- ·Affects which marketplaces providers integrate with
- ·Signals which platforms have traction in AI ecosystem
- ·Watch for take rate changes · marketplace pricing power evolves
- ·Marketplace valuation anchor · GMV × multiplier
- ·Compare GMV growth to revenue · divergence signals take-rate erosion or expansion
- ·AI marketplace take rates below consumer marketplaces · room to grow
- ·Total money flowing through a marketplace
- ·Different from profit the marketplace makes
- ·Used by AI marketplaces like OpenRouter and Replicate
GMV is how AI marketplaces get priced · OpenRouter at $1B+ GMV has ecosystem weight most single-product labs can't match.