What AI buyers publish for company data: 8 programs and 24 listings compared (October 2026)

Key findings

Origin Data Partners read the public terms of 8 programs that pay companies for internal records, and all 24 company listings Mercor publishes, on October 26, 2026. Figures are what each program publishes, not offers or completed deals.

• Typical range: the median Mercor listing publishes $50K to $843K. 6 of 24 listings top $1M; 6 start at $25K or less.
• Wide spread within each listing: the top of a range is a median 12 times the bottom. Design and web agencies have the widest range, $20K to $890K (about 44 times).
• Highest published ceilings: manufacturing and industrial ($1.5M), hardware engineering ($1.3M), law firms ($1.2M), hedge funds and quant firms ($1.1M).
• Headline versus calculator: Handshake AI advertises $100K to $4M+ while its own calculator shows up to $100,000. micro1's page gives three different starting points: $100K, $150K and $200K.
• Size minimums run from 5 staff (Mercor) to 30 full-time employees (micro1).
• Published payment timing runs from 2 to 4 weeks (Mercor) to about 60 days (micro1, BizBuyData).
• Referral bounties run from $10K (Handshake AI, Turing) to $100K (Mercor) per company.

The 8 programs side by side

Three kinds of programs publish terms: AI data companies that buy directly, intermediaries that license records on to AI labs, and a marketplace for closing startups. Download the full table (CSV).

Source: Each program page as listed under Sources, read October 26, 2026

Mercor's 24 listings, ranked by published ceiling

Mercor is the only buyer that publishes a separate range for each kind of company. Download all 24 listings (CSV).

Source: Mercor Data: Refer a company (24 listings), read October 26, 2026

Headline figures run far above the calculators

The biggest numbers are marketing ceilings. Handshake AI's page advertises $100K to $4M+, while the calculator on the same page tells visitors their data could be worth up to $100,000. micro1 publishes tiers starting at $100K, a headline starting at $200K and a process section starting at $150K.

For an owner, the useful number is the range for a company like theirs, and the only way to get it is an assessment of the actual records. Treat any headline as the best case for unusually complete, long and rare records.

Source: Handshake AI: Data partnerships

Size and country gates are lower than most owners assume

Mercor lists law firms, investment firms, accounting firms and AI product companies from 5 staff. BizBuyData accepts law firms with 6 employees and accounting firms with 10. The stricter gates are micro1 (30+ full-time employees, mostly English records, US first) and SourceX (about 50 at peak).

Country rules are rarely spelled out. BizBuyData requires US office employees. micro1 prioritizes the US, then the UK, Canada and other Western markets. Handshake AI's calculator offers the USA, Canada, Europe and Other. See selling company data from outside the US.

How fast programs pay, and what they ask for

Mercor says payment arrives by wire typically 2 to 4 weeks after signing and that it covers extraction and anonymization costs. micro1 pays within 30 days of acceptance, and its FAQ describes a 30-day review before invoicing. BizBuyData describes a 14-day letter of intent, 15 to 30 days of de-identification and payment in about 60 days.

Exclusivity is where terms differ most. SourceX's standard terms ask for a one-time payment with no royalties and perpetual exclusivity for AI training, though it says shorter or non-exclusive terms can be agreed. Exclusivity should be priced separately: see what to include in a data licensing agreement.

Referral bounties explain the rush of new intermediaries

Programs pay people who introduce a company: up to $100K per company at Mercor (which says it has paid referrers over $2M in 2026), the greater of $50K or 6% of the payment at BizBuyData, an advertised 50K+ at micro1, and $10K at Handshake AI and Turing. Those amounts are why dozens of new sites now offer to "sell your data" for owners.

Owners should ask any intermediary how it is paid. Origin Data Partners publishes this study and may receive referral compensation from a receiving company; it is not affiliated with any program named here. Read the referral disclosure.

Source: Mercor Data: Refer a company

How big the market is, by the programs' own numbers

For completed deals rather than published terms, see the AI data licensing deals tracker.

• Mercor says it has paid companies more than $50M for their data.
• Handshake AI says it has paid out $250M to partners and works with 1,000+ partner companies.
• micro1 committed $1 billion over 12 months to licensing company data, according to Business Insider (October 2026).
• SimpleClosure says more than 350 companies have listed on AssetHub since April 2026 and expects to return over $10M to listing startups by year end.

Method and how to cite

Each figure was read from the program's own public page on October 26, 2026, except BizBuyData (its launch release), SourceX (a sponsored article on TechCrunch) and SimpleClosure (an interview in Upstarts Media). Where a page gives conflicting figures, all are recorded. Medians use the low and high of each of Mercor's 24 listings. Programs change their pages often; the CSV files record the date read.

Free to reuse with a link. Suggested citation: Origin Data Partners, "What AI buyers publish for company data" (October 2026), origindatapartners.com/guides/ai-company-data-buyer-programs-study. Downloads: programs (CSV), Mercor listings (CSV).

Origin Data Partners is independent and is not affiliated with any program named here. We help owners compare buyers and find the best fit for their records. See what your data is worth.