Valuation guide
What is company data worth to AI buyers?
Short answer: Published AI data buyer ranges mostly start around $100K per licence and run past $1M, with Mode citing an indicative $100K–$5M and Handshake $100K to $4M+. Where a firm lands depends on headcount, years of records, record types, number of systems, exclusivity and whether the buyer accepts Canadian companies.
What buyers publish, the factors that move the number, and how our estimator works.
Last updated · Sources linked inline · Buyer figures observed Oct 16, 2026
What do AI data buyers publish about price?
| Buyer | Published amount | Who qualifies |
|---|---|---|
| Mode (data.mode.inc) | Indicative $100K–$5M; about 3 months from first call to payment; no broker fee charged to the company. As published · verify | Minimum 6 staff for legal, 10 for accounting and finance, 30 for other businesses. Teams based mainly in the US are its strongest fit. |
| Handshake AI | Published range $100K to $4M+; typically paid 30–60 days after the de-identified dataset is accepted. As published · verify | 20+ full-time employees and 3+ years in operation. |
| Polyshares | $100K to $2M+ per licence; Net 30–60 after approval and delivery. As published · verify | Companies in any sector. |
| micro1 | Published tiers of $100K+, $500K+ and $1M+ (its referral page cites $100K–$2M+ for approved packages). As published · verify | 30+ employees. US companies prioritized, then other Western markets; primarily English. |
| Turing (Project Lazarus) | A single payment of up to $1M, confirmed after sampling (usually within a week). As published · verify | Operating, winding-down or closed companies. Wants communications, tickets, wikis and databases; code alone doesn't qualify. |
| SuperAnnotate | Indicative valuation $100K to $1M+; paid on delivery and on each relicense. As published · verify | Companies of any size, industry or location. |
| Labelbox (Prism) | From about $50K to $1M+ per licence; exclusive by default. As published · verify | Companies with real-world operational data. |
| Scale AI | Illustrative $10K to $1M+ per partnership; can recur. As published · verify | 40+ employees preferred; assessed case by case. |
| Ooak Data | Up to $1M; closed deals so far from $20K to several hundred thousand dollars. As published · verify | Operating, winding-down and closed companies; pays the company entity. |
Observed Oct 16, 2026 via the Who Sells Data register; each links to the buyer's own page. Not offers. Currency isn't always stated, so confirm it.
What makes company data worth more?
- Headcount. Published minimums cluster at 6 to 10 (Mode, for legal and accounting), 20 (Handshake), 30 (micro1) and 40 (Scale, preferred).
- Years of history. Handshake and Nyne state 3+ years. Longer archives show more cycles of real work.
- Breadth of systems. Ooak and Collinear say value rises with the number of tools connected and how deeply they're used.
- Record type. Judgment-heavy records (review notes, tickets with resolutions, RFIs) are what buyers describe wanting.
- Exclusivity. Some licences are exclusive by default (Labelbox, as published). Exclusivity limits relicensing elsewhere.
- Eligibility. US preference and English-language requirements narrow the field for Canadian and French-language firms.
How does the Firm Data Licensing estimator work?
The estimator doesn't use any buyer's private pricing. It applies a simple, published-tier mapping:
| Your answers | Band shown | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Below the industry's lowest published minimum | Below most published minimums | Mode's floors of 6 (legal) and 10 (accounting and finance); about 20 for most others |
| At the minimum, under 30 staff | $100K+ entry band | Lowest published floors (Mode, Handshake, micro1) |
| 30–99 staff | $100K–$500K | Between micro1's first two published tier floors |
| 100–249 staff | $500K–$1M | micro1's second tier and Turing's $1M ceiling |
| 250+ staff | $1M+ | micro1's top tier; Mode and Handshake ceilings run higher |
Under 3 years of records drops the band one step, because several buyers want 3+ years. Ten or more years across four or more systems flags the upper half as more likely. These are our assumptions, stated openly, not buyer data.
What else affects valuation?
How much is my company's data worth to AI companies?
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What could your firm's records be worth?
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