Guide · 7 min read
How much is your company’s data worth to AI labs?
Published program figures describe opportunities, not a price for your archive. The useful comparison is an offer for a defined set of records and rights, after exclusions and preparation costs. Start with the sources below, then ask what a buyer would actually accept.
How much do AI companies pay for company data in 2026?
These figures come from program marketing or identified reporting. They are not a representative sample of completed transactions. Different programs include different rights, preparation work and ongoing commitments:
| Buyer | Published range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| micro1 | $100K to $2M+ | Advertised figure; profile reviewed 2026-10-31 |
| Scale AI | $10K to $1M+ | Advertised figure; profile reviewed 2026-10-31 |
| Handshake AI | $100K to $4M+ | Advertised figure; profile reviewed 2026-10-31 |
| Polyshares | $100K to $2M | Advertised figure; profile reviewed 2026-10-31 |
| Endless Data | Up to $4M | Advertised figure; profile reviewed 2026-10-31 |
| Labelbox Prism | $50K to $1M+ | Advertised figure; profile reviewed 2026-10-31 |
| SimpleClosure AssetHub | $10K to $100K | Historical report; profile reviewed 2026-10-26 |
| SourceX | Up to $4M | Advertised figure; profile reviewed 2026-10-30 |
| Mode / BizBuyData | $100K to $5M | Advertised figure; profile reviewed 2026-10-30 |
Sources: each buyer’s official page, linked from our buyer comparison, with individual review dates. Published figures may describe different terms or program tiers.
What real deals have been reported?
- Data labeling startups were reportedly paying HVAC companies about $150,000 for their data (The Information).
- Shut-down startups selling Slack, email and code archives through SimpleClosure AssetHub reportedly closed about 100 deals at $10K to $100K (Fast Company).
- In the Spirit Airlines bankruptcy, bids for employee data reportedly reached $12.5M, after earlier bids of $10M and $7.5M; unions objected and the sale was unresolved as of September 2026 (CSO Online).
What drives the price?
- Depth and continuity: describe the years with usable context, gaps and outcomes. More years alone do not establish a higher price.
- Connected systems: show how a discussion links to a task and its outcome. Extra systems help only if the buyer can use the additional context.
- Headcount and active users: more people produce more varied, realistic interactions.
- Language: measure the original language mix and ask the buyer to confirm fit. Do not infer eligibility from headquarters or translate records just to meet a threshold.
- Preparation: identify exclusions, missing records and review work before comparing gross payment with your costs.
How much more is an exclusive license worth?
There is no verified universal exclusivity multiplier. Ask for exclusive and non-exclusive proposals against the same records, term and permitted uses. Compare the added payment with the rights you give up. Prism, for example, describes exclusivity as its default; that is a contract feature to evaluate, not a predictable price premium.
How long until you are paid?
Payment timing starts from different milestones. micro1 states payment within 30 days of acceptance; Mercor describes payment on delivery, typically two to four weeks after signing depending on processing; Polyshares states net 30 to 60 after approval, sharing and anonymization. Confirm the acceptance deadline as well as the payment window.
Before you ask for quotes
- Count full-time employees and active users per system
- Note the start date of each system’s history
- List what must be excluded (clients, NDAs, HR, health, privileged)
- Identify who can sign: an officer with authority over company data
Worked example: a 60-person MSP (fictional)
Northwind IT, a fictional 60-person managed service provider, has 6 years of Slack, 7 years of ConnectWise tickets and an IT Glue knowledge base, all in English and all internal.
The team maps ten resolved incidents to the relevant runbooks and internal discussions. It records which steps are missing and whether the reasoning still makes sense after client information is excluded. Headcount alone does not establish eligibility or value.
It sends buyers the same written scope and asks for a price, acceptance criteria and exclusive versus non-exclusive terms. It compares net proceeds after preparation work. This example illustrates a decision process, not an expected payout.
When not to do it
- If most of your history is client work you do not own, the licensable dataset may be too small to be worth the effort.
- If your data is mostly not in English, current demand is limited.
- If you cannot get an authorized officer to sign, stop: nothing should move without it.
Sources
- Handshake AI employer data program
- micro1 data partnerships
- Scale AI data partnership
- Polyshares data licensing
- Labelbox Prism enterprise
- Endless Data
- The Information: data labeling startups paying HVAC companies $150,000
- Fast Company on shut-down startup data sales
- CSO Online on the Spirit Airlines data bids
Content revised November 1, 2026. Buyer profiles show program review dates; historical reporting is identified separately.
Figures are each buyer’s published range or reported values, labelled as such, and are not offers. This is general information, not legal advice. QuoteMyData may be paid by buyers when a deal closes; see our disclosure.
