What is your company's data worth to AI buyers?

What do AI buyers say they pay for company records?

Buyers publish ranges, not prices. On 12 November 2026 the ranges ran from about USD 10,000, the bottom of Scale AI's illustrative range, to over USD 3 million, micro1's top tier^3,1. None of them is a quote for your company, and we do not average them into one.

All rows checked 12 November 2026. "Not stated" means the buyer has not stated a position on UK companies on its own page. We ask each buyer to confirm in writing that it accepts UK companies before we introduce you; the buyers page tracks what each buyer says.

Ranges move. In September, Fortune reported micro1 advertising USD 100,000 to more than 2 million¹⁵; its page now shows tiers to 3 million or more¹, after a rewrite that an affiliate comparison site dated to 25 October 2026¹². So every figure here carries a date.

What do buyers' own calculators say for a UK firm?

Two buyers publish calculators. We entered the same inputs into both on 12 November 2026. Both label their results indicative, not offers.

Both give a UK or European firm roughly 75% of the US figure (our arithmetic). micro1's estimator has no UK option, so we chose Europe; it also returns a figure for a 20-person firm although its FAQ looks for 30 or more staff^1,2. These tools see only headcount and years. micro1 says the final payout depends on "data sources, volume, quality, access terms, and due diligence"².

Why do published ranges differ so much?

Because nobody yet knows what a company archive is worth to a model. Surge AI, a buyer, told MIT Technology Review that buyers "quote wildly different numbers" because valuations rest on "research theses" about how many useful tasks an archive will yield, and no company has published tests comparing training on real records with the alternatives¹³.

Three more things widen the spread:

1. Different units. Some buyers quote per partnership, others per licence or dataset. Some pay once; Labelbox Prism pays an upfront fee plus a revenue share⁷, and Replay typically offers a perpetual revenue share¹⁹.
2. Exclusivity. Labelbox Prism's licences are exclusive by default, with extra exclusivity priced to the buyer⁷. Polyshares' published deals are perpetual exclusive licences⁵. Business Insider reports lower demand for a codebase a rival lab already holds²³.
3. Headline ceilings. SimpleClosure's chief executive has warned founders about advertisements promising USD 1 million, 3 million, even 5 million, and about new buyers that may never have bought a dataset²².

We do not turn these numbers into a forecast for you. A real figure comes only from a buyer that has reviewed your records.

What raises the value of your records?

Depth beats volume. Buyers say they pay more for long, continuous history, records that link across systems, visible reasoning and expertise that is hard to copy.

• Years of continuous history. micro1 says companies with "several years of records across multiple business systems" are generally a stronger fit¹. Cognor Labs, a US firm, claims a 12-year-old firm of 30 people "often out-prices" a two-year-old company of 300²⁰.
• Links between systems. Labelbox Prism lists cross-system workflow data, such as Salesforce to Jira to Slack with timestamps and roles, as an urgent need⁸. A micro1 executive told Business Insider that if a company will not sell its Slack, CRM or email records, the rest of its corpus is less valuable²³.
• Visible reasoning. Polyshares says depth of history and "how much visible reasoning the record contains" move its price "far more than raw volume does"⁴. Surge AI looks for archives ranging "from disagreements to tricky judgment calls"¹³.
• Domain depth. Scale AI looks for specialised expertise "that makes your data hard to replicate"³. Business Insider reports especially high demand in law and accounting²³.
• Volume and tools. Mercor says connecting more tools generally raises the payout¹¹; Mode's chief executive links value to the number of white-collar staff²³.
• English. micro1 wants records "primarily in English"¹.
• A clean route to removing personal data. In the Spirit Airlines auction, the seller's advisers weighed each bidder's de-identification method and deal certainty as well as price¹⁴. Our anonymisation standard is written for that test.

For the record types buyers name, see what AI companies buy.

What lowers value or rules records out?

Records you cannot clear, or do not own, are worth nothing to a buyer, however large.

• Personal data that cannot be removed safely, such as HR, payroll and health files. Labelbox Prism excludes HR data, performance reviews and compensation by default⁷, and Endless Data says regulated data lowers its final offer²¹.
• Material you hold for clients. Polyshares' licence does not cover "what you hold on behalf of your own clients"⁴. That limits many law, accounting and healthcare archives; see records by sector.
• Short or broken history, after a change of systems or deleted archives. Pewter Data notes that archives get deleted when subscriptions lapse¹⁷.
• Work done off-system, on paper, personal phones or private messaging apps.
• Records that are not unique, such as public material or a codebase rival labs already hold²³.

Why do some companies receive no offer?

Because buyers price after review. micro1 has 30 days to review delivered data before approving it¹, Polyshares does not pay "for a record we have not seen"⁴, and Pewter Data says some firms "receive no offer once their records are reviewed"¹⁷. If your records fall short, we would rather tell you on the first call.

How do company size and history affect value?

Size decides whether a buyer will look; history and content decide the price.

Replay calls headcount "a proxy" for what it actually prices¹⁹. For how many UK companies clear these floors, see the UK market in numbers.

What has actually been paid?

Very little is independently reported, and we have found no published price for a UK company's licence. One large deal is before a US court; the rest are press reports or companies' own claims.

Spirit's archive was reported in September at about 100 million emails and 500 million Teams messages¹⁴; a November court filing lists 1.9 billion internal emails and 664 million Teams items¹⁶. Either way, it is far beyond a 20 to 250 person firm. Press-reported figures for smaller companies run from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars; most of the larger figures are claims by firms active in this market, not independent reports. Until our first licences complete, we quote other people's numbers, attributed.

How ready are your records?

Answer yes or no. This is a readiness check, not a price: it tells you whether a valuation call is worth your time.

1. Do you have 30 or more staff, now or at your peak?
2. Do your main systems hold at least three years of continuous records?
3. Does most work happen in shared systems (email, chat, tickets, CRM, project tools) rather than on paper or personal phones?
4. Can you follow one job or case across two or more systems, for example from enquiry to ticket to invoice?
5. Do your records show decisions and the reasons for them, not only finished documents?
6. Are your records mainly in English?
7. Was most of the material written by your own staff, rather than by clients or suppliers?
8. Could you leave out HR, payroll, health and client files and still have a substantial record?
9. Do you still have admin access to every archive, including tools you no longer pay for?
10. Is there a director who can approve the project, with a solicitor you can call on?

8 to 10 yes: book the 30-minute call now. 5 to 7: worth the call; expect some exclusions. 4 or fewer: the same 30-minute call will tell you whether to wait, and we will say so if it is too early.

What happens on the valuation call?

A free, confidential 30-minute conversation, working from your description, never your files. It is an assessment of fit, not an independent valuation: we are not valuers, and we are paid only if a licence completes. You leave knowing which buyers' published criteria you appear to meet and what would need to stay out.

1. Before the call: send the form below with your sector, headcount and main systems. We reply within one working day.
2. On the call: we ask about history, systems, volumes, language, client or health material, and whether you have already registered with a buyer. How it works explains the full process.
3. Afterwards: if you want to go further, we agree a shortlist of buyers with you, and before you sign anything we tell you in writing what each shortlisted buyer would pay us. Our fee comes from the buyer, never from you; see how we are paid.
4. Then you decide. Nothing goes to any buyer without your permission.

Dollars, pounds and tax

Every range here is in US dollars, so plan to be paid in dollars unless you negotiate otherwise. Ask your accountant how the receipt will be taxed, when to convert, and whether VAT applies: HMRC's general rule treats business-to-business services as supplied where the customer belongs, but special rules come first²⁴. If you are an accountant sizing this for a client, see how accountants and advisers introduce a client.