$1 billion
The budget one AI data company announced in October 2026, just for buying data from businesses over the next 12 months.
Company announcement, Oct 2026
One AI data company just set aside $1 billion to buy and license business data. Here’s what that means for yours.
AI Labs Are Buying the Kind of Records Your Company Makes Every Day
AI developers are licensing the everyday records of established companies: the emails, tickets and project histories that show how real work gets done. Watch the 6-minute briefing to see if yours may be a fit.
For owners with 20+ full-time staff and 3+ years of records.
5:50
Captions: tap CC in the player.
Important: Watch to the end. At 1:42 you’ll see the one thing buyers actually pay for, and at 4:43, a 2-minute test you can run on your own systems tonight.
See If My Company Qualifies Free · About 60 seconds · No files shared- $0 upfront. Ever.
- Nothing moves until you sign.
- Data goes straight to the buyer, never to us.
- The buyer decides fit and price. No payment is guaranteed.
Why owners are hearing about this now
The money is already moving. Most owners haven’t noticed.
Shut down
AI labs are buying the records of startups that have already closed: old chats, tickets and code. Their paperwork found a buyer after the lights went off.
MIT Technology Review, 13 Oct 2026
Real work
Labs are building AI that does multi-step work, and testing it on real tasks written by working professionals. You can’t teach that from blog posts.
GDPval research paper, Oct 2025
Buyers are spending right now. Programs open, fill up and change their rules, so today’s criteria may not be next year’s.
AI has read the whole internet.
It has never seen one of your Tuesday afternoons.
A customer request comes in. It gets passed between three people. Something goes wrong. Someone fixes it. It ships. That’s how real work happens, and almost none of it is ever published. Your company has years of it.
What buyers actually pay for
Buyers don’t pay for files. They pay for work trails.
A work trail is one job you can follow from start to finish inside your systems. A folder of loose documents is noise. A work trail is a lesson: it shows how a decision actually got made.
- 01The requestEmail, web forms, call notes
- 02The back-and-forthTeam chat, email threads
- 03The workTickets, project boards, CRM stages
- 04The review and fixApprovals, comments, corrections
- 05The outcomeDelivered, resolved, closed out
Buyers look for years of these: connected, exportable and mostly in English.
Try it yourself
The 2-minute work trail test
Pick one job your team finished last year. Open your systems. Can you find…
Tick what you can find.
Nothing you tick here is saved or sent.
License, not sale
You keep ownership.
Licensing your records works like a songwriter licensing a song for a TV ad. The advertiser pays to use it, on terms you sign off. The songwriter still owns it.
- You keep ownership of your records.
- You choose what goes in, and what stays out.
- Customer names and personal details are removed before use.
- Anything a client contract protects stays out.
- Nothing moves until you sign.
How it works with Data to Labs
Four steps. You decide at every one.
- 1
Free fit check
We look at your size, history, systems and anything that’s off-limits. You don’t send a single file.
- 2
Your record map
A short list of what you have: systems, years and rough volumes. It describes your data. It contains none of it.
- 3
A vetted introduction
If there’s a fit, we introduce you to a buyer whose current demand matches your records. You check them out yourself. Your lawyer reviews the agreement.
- 4
You decide
If you sign, your data goes directly from your company to the buyer, never through us. The buyer pays after it reviews and accepts the data.
From first call to payment usually takes weeks to months. No buyer guarantees a timeline.
The honest part
What’s it worth? Nobody can tell you from your headcount.
The buyer reviews your records, and the buyer sets the price. Here’s what publicly reported deals have looked like so far.
Many companiesNo deal. They don’t qualify.
Most reported dealsTens of thousands to the low hundreds of thousands of dollars
A fewHigher
Five red flags. Use them on anyone, including us.
- They ask you to pay anything up front.
- They want your raw data before a signed agreement.
- They won’t say who the buyer is, or how your data is protected.
- They promise a dollar amount before reviewing anything.
- They push you to decide on the first call.
One yes, and you walk.
How Data to Labs gets paid
$0 upfront. Ever.
We’re only paid if a deal closes. Depending on the buyer, that’s either a referral fee the buyer pays us, which doesn’t come out of your payment, or a success fee that’s a percentage of the completed deal.
You’ll see which one applies, and the exact numbers, in writing before any introduction.
Straight talk
Who this is for. And who it isn’t.
Usually a fit
- 20+ full-time staff (some buyers ask for 30+)
- 3+ years of business records
- Records mostly in English
- Work tracked in email, team chat, CRM, tickets or project boards
- An owner or executive who can say yes
- Any industry: professional services, engineering, finance, logistics, support teams and more
Not a fit
- Fewer than 20 full-time people, or under 3 years of records
- Anyone who wants a guaranteed number
- Anyone who needs cash this month. Payment comes after the buyer accepts the data.
- Records you don’t have the right to share
Questions owners ask
Ask us anything. Here’s what comes up first.
Is this legit, or a scam?
It’s a real, fast-growing market, and it attracts bad actors. So test everyone, including us, against the five red flags above. No upfront fees, no raw data before signing, you verify the buyer yourself, and your lawyer reviews the agreement.
How much will we get?
Nobody can say until a buyer reviews your records. Reported deals mostly run from tens of thousands to the low hundreds of thousands of dollars, a few go higher, and many companies don’t qualify. The buyer sets the price.
Are we selling our data?
No. It’s a license. You keep ownership, and the agreement spells out exactly what the buyer can and can’t do with it.
Will our customers’ information be exposed?
You decide what’s included. Buyers remove customer and personal details before use, and you can leave out anything a client contract protects. Get the buyer’s process in writing and have your lawyer review it.
Our records are boring. Why would AI care?
Boring is the point. The internet doesn’t show how real work gets done: the handoffs, reviews and fixes. Your records do.
We’re not a tech company. Does that matter?
No. What matters is how your team works and whether it’s recorded, not what you sell.
How much work is this for my team?
It depends on the buyer and your systems. Buyers’ engineers often guide the export. Before you commit, get in writing who does what and how many hours it takes.
Won’t this train AI to replace us, or help a competitor?
The data trains general AI, not a tool for one competitor, and it’s de-identified. You can limit permitted uses, refuse exclusivity and leave out anything strategic.
Why use you instead of going to a buyer directly?
You can go direct. We help you check fit fast, ask the right questions about rights and effort, avoid bad actors and keep things moving. And you’ll know exactly how we’re paid before any introduction.
What happens after I fill in the form?
If your answers look like a possible fit, we’ll email you to set up a short fit call. No files, no fee, no obligation. If it’s not a fit yet, we’ll tell you why.
Free fit check
See if your company could be a fit.
A few quick questions. About 60 seconds. No files, no fee, no obligation.
- No upfront fee
- No files shared
- The buyer decides fit and price
Preview mode: nothing was sent. This form isn’t connected yet.
Still not sure? Run the two-minute test tonight.
- 1
Open your inbox and project board.
Whatever your team works in every day: email, team chat, a shared inbox, a board.
- 2
Pick one job from last year.
A real one, with a customer, a few people and a problem someone sorted out.
- 3
Follow it from start to finish.
If you can trace it from the first email to the final sign-off, that’s a work trail. Years of those is what buyers look for.
Found one? Take the free fit check and see if your company looks like a possible fit.