Selling Data as a Business: Prices, Buyers and Steps
Selling data as a company is a different market from selling your own personal data. Your Slack threads, email, CRM history and support tickets are a record of how your business actually runs. AI labs now pay for that record. Here's what it's worth, who buys it, and how a deal works.
Yes, you can sell or license your company's operational data to AI companies. Startups selling archives while shutting down have reported deals of $10,000 to $100,000 (Forbes, Apr 16, 2026). Direct buyers licensing an operating company's full record publish typical deals of $100,000 to $2 million and up. Years of history and how much work is done in writing matter more than raw size.
Why AI companies pay for company data: selling data as a business
The first wave of AI models trained on the public web: news, books, forums and Wikipedia. The next wave is agents that do real work, like resolving a support ticket, moving an invoice through approval or running a project from kickoff to delivery. Public text doesn't show how that work happens inside a company. Your records do.
Labs and their data suppliers use these records to build training environments that mimic real workplaces, where agents practice tasks against realistic messages, documents and workflows. That demand is why wind-down firms, data brokers and direct buyers have all entered this market in the past year.
Selling data as a business vs selling your personal data
Search "selling data" and you will see two different markets mixed together. One is consumer apps that pay individuals small amounts for their browsing, location or survey data. The other is companies selling or licensing data they own: records, code, transcripts and other business data.
| Selling personal data | Selling company data | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sells | An individual | A business, often one that is closing |
| What is sold | Your own browsing, location or survey answers | Business records: chat, email, tickets, code, documents |
| Who buys | Data apps and market research panels | AI developers, data brokers and wind-down firms |
| Main legal check | The app's terms | Privacy policy, customer and employee contracts, privacy law |
This guide covers only the second market: selling data as a business. If you want to sell your own personal data, this is not the page for you.
What company data can you sell?
Buyers want the working record of the business: the conversations, decisions and handoffs behind the work, not just the final output.
Why AI companies want business records
Early models learned from public text. The newer push is agents that do work: resolve a ticket, move an invoice through approval, run a project. Public text doesn't show how that happens inside a company. Your records do.
Research labs now build simulated offices out of real Slack channels and email threads, then sell those environments to AI labs to train agents. In August 2026, Google won a bankruptcy auction for Spirit Airlines' internal emails and Teams chats with a $10 million bid, though the sale still needs court approval at a hearing set for Nov 6, 2026.
What they look for
| Raises value | Lowers value |
|---|---|
| Many years of continuous history | A year or two, or big gaps |
| Work argued out in writing | Decisions made on calls nobody recorded |
| Several connected systems | One isolated tool |
| Former employees' accounts kept | Deleted accounts and workspaces |
| Records you clearly own | Data you hold for clients |
You probably won't sell to a lab directly
Large labs mostly buy from big companies or through auctions. Most businesses sell to a direct buyer who licenses the data, pays you, then supplies labs, or go through a broker or wind-down platform. See who buys company data for how each works.
How to get started
- List your systems and note how many years of history each has.
- Don't delete anything. Keep former employees' accounts.
- Run the value calculator for an indicative range.
- Check your customer contracts for anything that restricts licensing.
- Get a written offer. You can request an offer from Polyshares at no cost.
What happens to your data
It's anonymized, packaged into datasets or training environments, and supplied to AI developers within the limits of your license. A license doesn't hand over your business. You keep the data and keep using it.
More in this guide series
Related step-by-step guides
Sources
| Data type | Common systems | What buyers look for |
|---|---|---|
| Team chat | Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat | Threads where people debate, decide and hand off work |
| Gmail, Outlook | Long-running threads with customers, vendors and partners | |
| CRM | HubSpot, Salesforce, GoHighLevel, Pipedrive | Deal history with notes, calls and stage changes over time |
| Customer support | Zendesk, Intercom, Freshdesk | Tickets with the full back-and-forth to resolution |
| Project management | Jira, Asana, ClickUp, monday.com | Issues with comments, status changes and linked work |
| Call and meeting recordings | Gong, RingCentral, Zoom | Hours of real conversations with transcripts |
| Field operations | ServiceTitan, AccuLynx, JobNimbus, Procore | Jobs from estimate to invoice, with photos and notes |
| Source code | GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket | Full commit history, pull request reviews and issues |
| Accounting and ERP | QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite | Transaction history that shows how money actually moves |
How much is your company's data worth?
There's no public price list yet, but deal sizes have started to show up in reporting and in buyers' own published terms.
| Deal type | Who it fits | Reported range |
|---|---|---|
| Wind-down platform sale | Startups selling archives as part of shutting down | $10K to $100K (Forbes, Apr 16, 2026) |
| Direct license from a buyer | Operating companies with years of history | $100K to $2M+ |
| Bankruptcy auction | Large companies selling a complete operating history | $10M bid (Spirit Airlines) |
What raises the number
- Many years of continuous history
- Work argued out in writing, not on calls nobody recorded
- Several connected systems, like chat, tickets and CRM together
- Former employees' accounts kept, not deleted
- Clear ownership of the records
What lowers it
- Short history or big gaps
- Mostly automated or templated messages
- Records that belong to your clients, not you
- Deleted workspaces with no saved export
- Contracts that restrict how the data can be used
Run the value calculator for an indicative range based on your systems, history and headcount.
How a data licensing deal works
- Intake.You list your systems, roughly how much is in each, and how long you've used them. An estimate from the admin console is enough.
- Sample review.The buyer reviews a sample to judge depth and quality. Serious buyers price after they've seen the record, not before.
- Offer.You get a written offer covering the data included, the term and the price. Direct buyers quote within one to two weeks.
- Contract.The license spells out exactly what's covered, how it can be used and what stays excluded, like client-owned data.
- Anonymization.Names, emails, account numbers and other identifying details are stripped, usually by a specialist privacy firm, before anyone downstream sees the data.
- Payment.Money moves after the data is approved and delivered. Net 30 to 60 days is common for direct buyers.
Who buys company data?
There are three kinds of buyers, and they work differently.
Direct buyers
They license the data themselves, pay you, then supply AI labs. One counterparty, no listing, no fee to you. Polyshares works this way.
Brokers and marketplaces
They list your data or match you with labs, then take a cut when a deal closes. More buyers can see it, but timing and price are less certain.
Wind-down platforms
Firms that help startups shut down now bundle data sales into the process. Convenient if you're already closing, with deals reported at the smaller end.
Labs buying directly
A few large labs and data companies buy directly, mostly from large companies or through auctions.
See our side-by-side comparisons, like Polyshares vs SimpleClosure, scored on fees, payout, timing and data handling.
Is selling company data legal?
Generally yes, when you license data you own under a proper agreement. Three questions decide most cases:
- Do you own it? Data you hold on behalf of clients is usually off limits.
- Do your contracts allow it? Check customer agreements, vendor terms and any investor approval rights.
- Is personal information removed? Identifying details should be stripped to a documented standard before transfer.
Employee privacy is a real concern. Privacy advocates have pointed out that workplace messages are written by identifiable people who never expected them to be sold. Good buyers anonymize before anything moves. Talk to your attorney before you sign. This guide isn't legal advice.
Closing your business? Do this first
The biggest mistake owners make is shutting off Slack, Google Workspace or the CRM before checking what the data is worth. Once a workspace is deleted, there's nothing left to license. Export first, then decide.
Read the full guide to closing a business, including what to do with every asset.
Guides by system
Where to find the size of your data, how to export the full history, and what drives its value.
Common questions
Do I lose ownership of my data?
Not with a license. You keep the business and the data, and can keep using it as before. The license covers defined material for a defined term. An outright sale is different, so check which one you're signing.
Can a small business sell its data?
Yes, if it has real operating history. Size helps, but a 20-person company with eight years of detailed Slack and ticket history can be worth more than a larger company with little in writing.
Does it cost anything?
Direct buyers charge you nothing because they're the ones paying. Brokers and marketplaces usually take a percentage when a deal closes. Ask for the fee in writing.
How long does it take to get paid?
Expect one to two weeks to an offer and 30 to 60 days after delivery for payment with direct buyers. Brokered deals take longer because they depend on finding a buyer.
What happens to the data afterward?
It's anonymized, packaged into datasets and supplied to AI developers for training and evaluation, within the limits of your license.
Can I sell data from a company that already closed?
Only if you saved exports or the accounts still exist. Deleted workspaces usually can't be recovered.
- Forbes reporting on startups selling Slack and email archives, April 2026, via Gizmodo and Fast Company
- Polyshares published terms, polyshares.com, accessed October 2026
- Spirit Airlines data auction, TravelPulse; licensing overview, Troveo