Blog
The business data market, explained
What AI companies pay for company records, who's buying, and how owners protect themselves. Sourced and written in plain English.
News
Mercor's 2026 security incident, and the lessons for anyone licensing records
A compromised open-source package exposed Mercor in March 2026. What the company disclosed, the lawsuits that followed, and what sellers should ask any buyer.
Oct 28, 2026 3 minRead
News
Those "$2M for your company's data" ads: what is really on offer
Who places the $2M company data ads, how far real examples fall below that figure, what the lead form signs you up for, and what to check before a call.
Oct 28, 2026 3 min
Explainer
The reason AI firms now pay for everyday business records
Public text taught AI to write but never showed it how a business actually operates. That gap is what AI firms are now paying companies to fill.
Oct 28, 2026 2 min
Guide
Five types of company that buy business data for AI
Labs, licensors, wind-down firms, brokers and marketplaces each play a part in moving company data to AI. How each one works and where you fit.
Oct 28, 2026 3 min
Guide
Six types of business record that AI buyers keep asking for
Procedures, conversations, work logs, financial records, working files and code. What each looks like, what lifts its value and what buyers exclude.
Oct 28, 2026 2 min
Guide
That old company mailbox now has buyers. What changed
Mailboxes companies once purged are now on AI buyers' wish lists. Why email is such strong training material, what large archives fetched, and what to check.
Oct 28, 2026 3 min
Explainer
Your email and Slack after the license: the path to a trained AI agent
Collection, scrubbing, task building and grading: the route licensed email and chat take into AI agent training, and what remains in the model afterwards.
Oct 28, 2026 3 min
Guide
Selling business data to AI firms: the process from start to payment
What a business data sale really involves, the seven stages from first enquiry to payment, the time it takes and the amounts buyers publish.
Oct 28, 2026 3 min
Market news
Reported prices for company data, from closed startups to Spirit Airlines
Every company data deal on the record, from roughly $25,000 paid for one dead startup's codebase up to Spirit Airlines' $12.5M top bid, separated into documented deals and claims.
Oct 28, 2026 3 min
Explainer
How buyers price a company's records: ten factors behind the number
What we mean by a data payout, the ten things buyers weigh when pricing your records, the fees that may come off, and lump sums versus ongoing income.
Oct 28, 2026 3 min
Guide
Should you license company data to AI? Weighing the gains and the costs
A balanced look at licensing company records for AI: fresh income for little effort on one side, irrevocable rights and staff reaction on the other.
Oct 28, 2026 2 min
Checklist
A dozen questions every AI data buyer should answer before you sign
A first-call checklist for buyers and brokers of company data: who funds whom, which lab ends up with the records, scrubbing, retention, payment and past deals.
Oct 28, 2026 3 min
Market news
Inside the bankruptcy sale of Spirit Airlines' internal records
In bankruptcy, Spirit offered around 100M emails plus about 500M Teams messages. The bidders, the objections from unions and lawmakers, and lessons for smaller sellers.
Oct 28, 2026 2 min
Guide
Winding down the company? Do not cancel Slack before reading this
Buyers pay shutting-down companies for their Slack history. Why it is in demand, what closed startups have received, who is buying, and the steps before you cancel.
Oct 28, 2026 2 min
For employees
Your work email and Slack may be licensed to AI firms. Here is how that works
Some companies now license their staff's email and Slack to AI buyers. What is included, what is stripped out, who receives the money and how employees have responded.
Oct 28, 2026 3 min
Reference
Data licensing jargon, translated into everyday English
The vocabulary buyers and brokers use when offering to license your company records, from data payout and data manifest to sublicensing and success fees.
Oct 28, 2026 3 min
Explainer
Scrubbed, coded or anonymous? Decoding the data cleaning vocabulary
The real meaning of de-identified, anonymized, pseudonymized and redacted, why written messages are hard to scrub, and how AI data buyers say they treat your records.
Oct 28, 2026 2 min
Market news
Company data ads on Facebook and Instagram, decoded
Eighteen or more advertisers now target owners on Facebook and Instagram. The seven claims their ads repeat and the five things they rarely mention.
Oct 28, 2026 2 min
Walk-through
Walk-through: a 20-person firm licenses its records
A hypothetical 20-person business licenses its records to an AI buyer, traced from first contact to payment using processes buyers publish themselves.
Oct 28, 2026 2 min
Explainer
Headcount floors: why one buyer wants 30 staff and another takes 10
Staff minimums among AI data buyers run from none to 50 or more. Why they vary, why a single firm can advertise two, and which one applies if you are near the line.
Oct 28, 2026 2 min
Market news
Data payouts by industry: the evidence collected so far
All the data payout figures we could locate, organised by industry and company size, with the source of each claim and why the evidence cannot yet support an index.
Oct 28, 2026 2 min
Get the monthly brief
New buyers, real deal prices and red flags. One email a month.