Short answerThe biggest buyer of operating-company data right now is micro1, which committed $1 billion over 12 months in October 2026 (The Next Web). Other activity includes AI labs buying shuttered startups' archives for $10K–$100K, data companies paying HVAC firms $150K, and Google's $10M deal for Spirit Airlines' records.
Public deals and price points
| Buyer / program | What they buy | Reported price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| micro1 Data Partnerships | SOPs, knowledge bases, CRM, project histories, QA, decisions | $100K–$1M+ per company; $1B total commitment | micro1, TNW |
| AI labs via SimpleClosure | Shuttered startups' Slack, email, tickets | $10K–$100K (100 deals in a year) | Fast Company |
| AI lab buyer (Cielo24 sale) | Slack, email, Jira | "Hundreds of thousands" | Fast Company |
| Data-labeling startups | HVAC company data | $150K | The Information |
| Spirit Airlines customer records (bankruptcy) | $10M | TNW | |
| Reddit content license | ~$60M / year | Engadget | |
| OpenAI | News Corp content | $250M over 5 years (reported) | LLM Pulse |
Press-reported figures; most deals are confidential and terms aren't confirmed by the parties.
What the trend tells you
- Buyers moved from content to operations. Early deals bought publishers' text. The 2026 deals buy how businesses actually work.
- Prices are now public. micro1 published its tiers, which gives owners an anchor for negotiation.
- Operating companies, not just failed ones. You don't need to shut down to sell. Licensing lets you keep ownership and keep operating.
See where your company fits: 60-second estimate.
Frequently asked questions
Which companies pay for business data?
micro1 runs the largest public program for operating companies, with a $1B commitment. AI labs also buy shuttered startups' archives, and Google has bought records in bankruptcy sales.
How much did micro1 commit to buying company data?
$1 billion over 12 months, announced October 9, 2026, with capital from Citi and Hercules Capital (The Next Web).
Sources
- The Next Web — micro1 commits $1bn to buy company data (Oct 9, 2026)
- micro1 — Data Partnerships program page
- Fast Company — Shuttered startups are selling old Slack chats and emails to AI companies (Apr 17, 2026)
- The Information — Data-labeling startups paying HVAC companies $150,000 for data
- Engadget — Reddit is licensing its content to Google (Feb 22, 2024)
- LLM Pulse — Every AI content licensing deal, mapped (2023–2026)