How Sleeping Asset is paid, and how we handle the conflict

Below we publish what each buyer could pay us and how AI data broker fees compare across the market.

Who pays Sleeping Asset?

The buyer does. When a licence completes, the buyer pays Sleeping Asset an introduction or referral fee; the seller pays nothing at any stage.

The trigger is the buyer's own rules. micro1 pays only after the referred company's data has been transferred and approved¹; Scale AI only if it signs a partnership agreement³; Mercor "when they become a paid partner"⁴. So we are paid late, and only if your deal completes.

The fee is a separate payment from the buyer to us, not a deduction from what your licence pays you. Buyers do not publish whether they factor referral costs into their offers, so we cannot tell you that.

What could we earn from each buyer?

This table shows each buyer's published referral reward, its conditions and what it says about UK companies. Amounts are in US dollars, as published, and every row is dated because programmes change often.

micro1's reward for companies no longer operating may be changing. micro1's own page, checked 12 November 2026, shows USD 75,000¹. A third-party report says new defunct-company referrals move to the same USD 50,000 terms as enterprise deals from 8 November 2026, except for applications made by 7 November²⁴. We will confirm with micro1 which terms apply before either figure appears in a fee disclosure to you.

Mode's October press release gave the reward simply as the greater of USD 50,000 or 6%⁸; its referral page, which we use, now pays 6% with no minimum outside the US⁷. No buyer endorses or partners with Sleeping Asset. We ask each buyer to confirm in writing that it accepts UK companies, and Augustova Ltd as a referrer, before we introduce you. What each buyer pays sellers is on our buyers page.

Worked examples (arithmetic, not forecasts). A USD 300,000 micro1 enterprise licence would pay us USD 50,000; a USD 1,000,000 one, 7.5% or USD 75,000¹. A Mode licence paying a UK company USD 300,000 would pay us 6%, or USD 18,000⁷. The same licence could earn us USD 50,000 or USD 18,000 depending on the buyer. That gap is why the next section exists.

Why is being paid by the buyer a conflict, and how do we manage it?

An agent who acts for you but is paid by the other side has a conflict of interest. The law's answer is full disclosure and your fully informed consent, so that is what we give you, in writing, before you sign.

In Hopcraft v Close Brothers (1 August 2025), the Supreme Court described a "secret commission" as a payment to an agent made without the principal's knowledge and consent²¹. It said a fiduciary's liability to account for profits "can be avoided if full disclosure (of all material facts) is made and the principal gives his or her fully informed consent"²¹. We act for the seller, so we hold ourselves to that standard: full written disclosure, and your consent before you sign.

Our rules:

1. Written fee disclosure before you sign: each shortlisted buyer's reward, its conditions and what we expect to receive in your case.
2. Every offer shown, including from buyers that pay us less, or nothing.
3. Reasons on file. If our preferred buyer also pays us more, we say so.
4. Every buyer payment in the disclosure. Whatever a buyer would pay us in connection with your licence is in the written disclosure you see before you sign.
5. Your decision. You choose the buyer, or none, and your own solicitor approves the licence. See how it works.

What do AI data brokers and agents charge?

AI data broker fees follow three models: the buyer pays the agent, the seller pays the agent a success fee, or both. None is wrong in itself; what matters is knowing which applies, how much it is, and whether you are told in writing before you sign.

Checked 12 November 2026; the AIData.Broker row is from a capture made on 11 November 2026, because its live page returned a security checkpoint to automated readers¹⁷.

A seller-paid fee lines the agent up with your price; a buyer-paid fee costs you nothing directly but creates the conflict above. For what to ask any agent before you sign, see how to choose an AI data broker or licensing agent.

What happens if a buyer has no referral programme?

You still pay nothing, and we earn nothing from that buyer. We tell you at shortlist stage which buyers would pay us nothing, and we still put their offers in front of you.

It happens two ways. Some buyers publish no programme: we found none at Polyshares¹². And fees are lost on attribution: micro1 will not credit a referral if your company registered first¹, and Scale AI pays one referrer per deal³.

How do fees work on insolvency cases?

The estate pays nothing. The buyer pays our fee, and we disclose it in writing to the office-holder before any licence, so it can be reported to creditors.

• SIP 9 (England and Wales, effective 1 April 2021) asks office-holders to disclose payments to themselves and their associates, and to treat anyone a reasonable and informed third party might see as associated as an associate²².
• The Insolvency Code of Ethics (from 1 October 2025) bars the insolvency practitioner, their firm or an associate from accepting referral fees during an appointment unless they are paid into the estate and disclosed²³.

See our insolvency practitioners page and the office-holder guide.

Accountants and advisers can read how introducing a client works. Who we are is on our About page and the service on our homepage. Start with a free valuation, and read how personal data is removed in our anonymisation standard.

Ask for our written fee disclosure on a free, confidential 30-minute call. We reply within one working day.