[2603.20533] Revenue-Sharing as Infrastructure: A Distributed Business Model for Generative AI Platforms

Computer Science > Computers and Society arXiv:2603.20533 (cs) [Submitted on 20 Mar 2026] Title:Revenue-Sharing as Infrastructure: A Distributed Business Model for Generative AI Platforms Authors:Ghislain Dorian Tchuente Mondjo View a PDF of the paper titled Revenue-Sharing as Infrastructure: A Distributed Business Model for Generative AI Platforms, by Ghislain Dorian Tchuente Mondjo View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:Generative AI platforms (Google AI Studio, OpenAI, Anthropic) provide infrastructures (APIs, models) that are transforming the application development ecosystem. Recent literature distinguishes three generations of business models: a first generation modeled on cloud computing (pay-per-use), a second characterized by diversification (freemium, subscriptions), and a third, emerging generation exploring multi-layer market architectures with revenue-sharing mechanisms. Despite these advances, current models impose a financial barrier to entry for developers, limiting innovation and excluding actors from emerging economies. This paper proposes and analyzes an original model, "Revenue-Sharing as Infrastructure" (RSI), where the platform offers its AI infrastructure for free and takes a percentage of the revenues generated by developers applications. This model reverses the traditional upstream payment logic and mobilizes concepts of value co-creation, incentive mechanisms, and multi-layer market architecture to build an original theoretical framework. A detaile...