Methodology
How we verify
Every AI business gets one proof level for its revenue. Agentic-ness is rated separately. Sponsors never influence our ratings.
Proof levels
Evidence not produced by the founder's own statement: a payment-provider feed, an official filing, or an acquirer disclosure.
The founder states the figure publicly, in their own words (posts, interviews, screenshots). Always shown with its date. A reshare counts as Claimed only if the founder states the figure in their own words.
Only third-party estimates, or figures that conflict or cannot be traced to a primary source.
Other labels
The figure was verified by the payment provider, but the feed has stopped syncing. We show the last sync date; current revenue may differ.
The headline figure is more than 12 months old. We still show it, with its date, but it is not a current number.
A real business we include as a warning (e.g. collapse after a hype spike or after ads stopped), not as a model to copy.
Agentic-ness (how much of the business runs on AI agents), difficulty, replicability scores and agent blueprints are our judgement, not data from the business.
Comparing different revenue metrics
Businesses report different things: MRR, monthly revenue, a 12-month average, annual revenue, annual turnover in another currency, a single month, or a sale price. Every case shows its metric type. To sort and compare, we also store a USD monthly equivalent (annual figures ÷ 12; other currencies converted at a stated rate and date). An exit (sale price) is not revenue, so it is excluded from revenue comparisons, as are vague claims such as "7-figure".
Our process
- Collect every public figure with its date and source.
- Cross-check founder posts against verified revenue feeds, filings and press.
- Flag conflicting figures instead of picking the most flattering one.
- Assign the proof level and re-check regularly; snapshots and old figures are labelled, and every case shows when we last checked it.
Disclaimer
ProofOfIncome is for information and education only. Nothing here is financial, legal or investment advice. We make no income guarantees: the results described are exceptional and most people earn little or nothing. Figures are as reported by the cited sources on the dates shown and may be inaccurate or out of date.