Zuora

Zuora, Inc.

Company type	Private
Industry	Enterprise software, Subscription management
Founded	2007 (2007)
Founder	Tien Tzuo, K.V. Rao, Cheng Zou
Headquarters	Redwood City, California , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Tien Tzuo (CEO), Chris Battles (Chief Product Officer), Robbie Traube (Chief Revenue Officer), Todd McElhatton (Chief Financial Officer)
Products	Zuora Central, Zuora Billing, Zuora Revenue, Zuora CPQ, Zuora Collect, Zuora Connect, Subscription Order Management, Zuora Analytics, Real-Time Revenue
Revenue	$396 million (2023)
Owner	Silver Lake, GIC
Number of employees	1600+ (2023)
Website	zuora.com

Zuora, Inc. is a U.S.-based enterprise software firm located in Redwood City, California, specializing in solutions that empower companies to implement and oversee subscription-driven services. Their software automates functions such as recurring billing, collections, quoting, revenue recognition, and subscription analytics. Established in 2007 by Tien Tzuo, who has continuously held the CEO position, Zuora focuses on assisting organizations shifting towards subscription-oriented business frameworks.

In 2023, the company generated $396 million in revenue, while operating and net losses reflected sustained investments aimed at growth. With a workforce exceeding 1,600 employees, Zuora holds a significant role within the enterprise software sector. Since 2025, ownership transitioned to private equity firm Silver Lake alongside Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, facilitating its worldwide expansion and enhancement of product offerings.

Founding and Public Offering

Zuora was established in 2007 by engineers K.V. Rao and Cheng Zou, both formerly associated with WebEx, together with Tien Tzuo, an early executive from Salesforce. The company’s name is derived from a combination of their last names. Its primary offering is a cloud-based billing system created to streamline subscription management for digital enterprises.

On 16 March 2018, Zuora submitted its paperwork for an initial public offering and subsequently debuted on the NYSE on 12 April 2018 under the ticker symbol ZUO. The IPO raised $154 million and valued the company at $1.4 billion. By the close of April 2018, Zuora’s market capitalization surpassed $2 billion.

In 2016, Zuora launched the Subscription Economy Index, which monitors revenue growth trends among subscription businesses using data collected from its platform. This index underscores the accelerated growth of subscription models relative to traditional sales metrics.

Zuora hosts the annual Subscribed conference series that centers on trends and strategies within the subscription economy. In 2018, it also founded the Subscribed Institute think tank led by Amy Konary to support companies operating on subscription models.

Notable executive appointments include Chris Battles as chief product officer (2019), Robbie Traube as chief revenue officer (2019), and Todd McElhatton as chief financial officer (2020), each bringing extensive expertise from companies such as LogMeIn, Adobe, and SAP respectively.

The company has earned various accolades including the 2017 CODiE Award for Best Subscription Management Solution, the 2020 CODiE Award for Best Subscription Billing Solution, and a Bronze Stevie Award for Customer Service in 2020.

Mergers and Collaborations

On 20 May 2015, Zuora acquired Frontleaf and introduced Z-Insights, which combines subscriber invoicing with customer usage analytics. In 2017, it further expanded its capabilities by acquiring Leeyo Software to enhance revenue recognition in compliance with updated accounting regulations.

Zuora maintains partnerships with leading firms such as Deloitte, Accenture, and PwC. In 2020, it broadened its collaboration with GoCardless to facilitate recurring payments across regions including North America, Europe, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, thereby lowering payment processing expenses.

In August 2022, Zuora agreed to purchase Zephr, a UK-based platform specializing in subscription experience management, for $44 million in cash. This acquisition bolstered its suite of products related to subscription management.

Funding

Zuora initiated its capital raising with a $6 million Series A round on December 17, 2007. This was followed by additional financing rounds: $15 million in Series B (September 2008), $20 million in Series C (October 2010), $36 million in Series D (November 2011), $50 million in Series E (September 2013), and $115 million in Series F (March 2015), cumulatively amounting to $250 million. Prominent investors involved include Benchmark Capital, Greylock Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Index Ventures, Shasta Ventures, Vulcan Capital, and Next World Capital. Distinguished individual backers feature Salesforce CEO and founder Marc Benioff, along with Dave Duffield, co-founder of Workday and former vice-chair of PeopleSoft.

Takeover

In October 2024, Zuora agreed to be acquired by Silver Lake, a U.S.-based private equity firm, alongside Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, in a fully cash-based transaction valued at $1.7 billion. The deal reached completion in February 2025.

Products

Zuora provides a subscription management software-as-a-service platform designed specifically for enterprises operating under subscription business models. Its core offering, Zuora Central, handles functions such as subscription billing, payment processing, collections, pricing strategies, product catalog management, and accounting integration. The platform’s principal SaaS modules include Zuora Billing for managing recurring charges, Zuora Revenue which facilitates revenue recognition processes, Zuora CPQ for configuring sales quotes, and Zuora Collect dedicated to payment recovery.

The company’s app marketplace, Zuora Connect, allows third-party partners to create and publish applications seamlessly integrated with the Zuora Central ecosystem. In May 2020, an enhanced version of the Central platform was launched featuring pre-configured workflows, improved data querying tools, comprehensive audit logs, and a sandbox environment for safe testing of new functionalities.

June 2018 marked the introduction of Subscription Order Management aimed at supporting contract renewals and handling complex transaction scenarios—signaling a strategic emphasis on expanding revenue from existing clients. Early 2020 saw the release of the Zuora Central Developer Platform enabling developers to connect Zuora’s services with external applications. That same year brought the debut of Zuora Analytics to assist clients in evaluating and optimizing their subscription business metrics.

In 2021, Zuora unveiled Real-Time Revenue, a solution designed to automate revenue reconciliation and simplify financial closing activities, thereby improving financial management for companies operating on subscription models.