Offers from AI data brokers to buy a company's Slack, email and files are real: Business Insider reported on 13 October 2026 that owners are getting six-figure offers that expire in 48 hours. A real offer can still be a poor one. Before you share anything, confirm who the buyer is, get the license scope, exclusivity, price basis, de-identification and payment terms in writing, check that you have the right to license employee and customer records, and compare the price with published ranges. A 48-hour deadline is a pressure tactic, not a reason to sign.
- Business Insider describes a "thriving group of go-betweens" that buy records from small businesses and resell them to AI labs, often with 48-hour deadlines.
- Ask the sender to name the end buyer or the lab category, and check the firm on its own website, not through links in the email.
- A written offer should state the buyer, license scope, exclusivity, price basis, de-identification and the real deadline.
- You may not have the right to license everything you hold: employee messages, customer files and contracts each need checking first.
AI data brokers: are these offers real?
Yes, the market is real. Business Insider reported on 13 October 2026 that "Business owners are getting six-figure “exploding offers” that expire in 48 hours to sell their data", and that "once focused on dead startups, brokers now pay for live data from active companies" (Business Insider). The records they want are the everyday ones: Slack, email, documents, CRM history and project files.
So an email offering to buy your company's Slack, email and files for AI training is probably not a hoax. That is not the same as a good deal. This checklist covers who these firms are, how to check the sender, what a proper offer states, the rights you must check, and how to judge the price.
Source: Business Insider: AI labs are fueling a wild market for your Slack DMs (Oct 13, 2026)
Who AI data brokers are
Business Insider describes them as intermediaries: "The boom has created a thriving group of go-betweens who hunt for small businesses rich in data and low on cash. After scrubbing sensitive information like Social Security numbers and home addresses, they resell it to AI giants." It adds that "The data is priced by the terabyte, anonymized, and sold to AI giants desperate for an edge" (Business Insider).
In practice, the firms that write to owners fall into three groups. Some are AI data companies that license records directly and say so on their own sites, such as micro1, Mercor, Handshake AI, Turing and Scale AI. Some are resellers that buy records and license them on to labs they may not name. A few, as the next section shows, have no right to what they sell. Our company data brokers compared and AI data companies directory list the known firms and their published terms.
Origin Data Partners is not one of these firms. It is an independent data partner that helps a company value its records and introduces buyers; it does not buy or resell records.
How to verify the sender
Check the firm before you reply with anything more than a question.
- Find the firm's own website by searching for it yourself, not through the links in the email. A real buyer has a page that describes its program, the records it wants and how it pays.
- Check that the sender's email domain matches that website exactly. Lookalike domains are a common trick; Handshake, for one, warns that scammers use addresses that "at first glance look legitimate".
- Ask who the end buyer is. Many firms will not name the lab before a contract, but they should name the kind of buyer and state whether they resell.
- Never send login details, a full export or a sample before you have a signed NDA and a written offer. Even sellers can be the wrong party: a Surge AI worker told Business Insider of a group offering a codebase where "It became apparent that this group did not have the rights to sell this data" (Business Insider).
- Use our guide on how to vet an AI data buyer for the full set of checks.
What a written offer should state
An email with a number is not an offer. Before you weigh the price, get these six things in writing. Our checklist for reviewing a data licensing offer goes through each in detail.
| Term | What to ask for | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer | The legal entity that signs and pays, and whether it resells | You need someone you can enforce the contract against |
| License scope | Which systems, which date ranges, which teams, and what the buyer may do with them | A vague scope lets the buyer use more than you meant to license |
| Exclusivity | Exclusive or non-exclusive, for how long, and in which fields | Exclusivity can block every later sale of the same records |
| Price basis | Fixed fee, per terabyte, per employee or a revenue share, and when each payment falls due | You cannot compare offers priced on different bases |
| De-identification | What is removed before delivery, who does it, and whether you approve a sample | Names, customers and personal data are your risk if they leak |
| Deadline | The real date the offer lapses, and why | A short deadline is often a tactic, not a business need |
For the license terms themselves, see exclusive vs non-exclusive data licenses and what a data licensing agreement should include.
Why a 48-hour deadline is a pressure tactic
Business Insider quoted Ryan Lock, "cofounder of AI broker Polyshares", who compared today's offers to the early Texas oil boom. "Tactics like 48-hour deadlines have become common, Lock said", and he gave the typical line: "I need an answer by Friday." Lock and his cofounders had sold data from their own companies, "sometimes laughing out loud at the lowball offers they got" (Business Insider). Lock's firm competes for the same sellers, so weigh his view with that in mind.
A short deadline works because it stops you from checking. Handshake gives the same warning to its own fellows: "Scammers often create urgency so you don’t stop to verify" (Handshake AI Help Center). Licensing your records is a contract that can outlast the payment. No legitimate buyer needs your answer before you have read the terms and checked your rights. If a firm will not extend a deadline for that, treat it as information about the firm.
Rights you must check before you share anything
Holding records is not the same as having the right to license them. Check these before any sample leaves your systems.
- Employee data. Business Insider reported that employees rarely profit from, or even know about, "their Slacks, PowerPoints, and Google Docs being sold to the highest bidder", and quoted an Emory law professor asking: "does the consent of the employees from whom they collected that data actually extend to the sale of the data?" (Business Insider). Read your employee handbook, privacy notices and any works council or union agreements.
- Customer data. Customer contracts often limit how you may use their information, and some hand ownership of deliverables to the client. One seller Business Insider spoke to said his agency did not sell client-specific material.
- Vendor and partner contracts. Software vendors, data providers and partners may own parts of what sits in your systems. In the Spirit Airlines sale, Business Insider reported that "Google’s bid to buy Spirit Airlines’ old data for $10 million has been held up, in part, by flight attendants worried about how their records will be used", and a longtime vendor said it learned of the sale from the media (Business Insider).
- Privacy law. Depending on where your staff and customers live, the GDPR, the CCPA and similar laws may apply even after de-identification. Start with is it legal to sell company data for AI training and data licensing under GDPR and CCPA.
How to compare the price with published deals
Buyers rarely publish price lists, but several publish ranges. Handshake AI says it helps companies "license this data with $100K to $4M+ payouts" (Handshake AI). micro1 states "Company compensation: $100K-$3M+ for approved data packages" (micro1). Mercor's referral listings show company ranges such as $50k to $1.2M for a law firm and $100k to $1.5M for a manufacturer (Mercor Data). The largest public deal is Google's $10 million bid for Spirit Airlines' data.
Business Insider says "The data is priced based on a multitude of factors, with volume being a critical one", that "The more white-collar employees a company has, the more valuable its data corpus is", and that "Other factors, like exclusivity, matter" (Business Insider). So compare offers on the same basis: the same systems, years, exclusivity and payment timing. A higher headline with exclusivity and late payment can be worth less than a smaller non-exclusive offer paid on delivery.
Our AI data licensing deals tracker and what company data is worth collect the published numbers, and company data value per employee shows how headcount moves the range.
Is selling company data to AI legit?
Yes, when it is done with a named buyer, a written license, the rights in place and personal data removed. Our full answer is in is selling company data to AI legit?. The risk lies less in the idea than in rushed deals: an unnamed buyer, a vague scope, a deadline that stops you checking, and records you did not have the right to license.
If an offer has reached you, you do not have to answer it alone or answer it fast. Write down what the email says, ask for the six terms above in writing, and compare it with what other buyers publish before you decide.
Does your company hold records like these? See what your data is worth.
Origin Data Partners works with companies that own data and helps get it bought. We are independent of the services on this page, and a buyer may pay us when a deal closes (how Origin is paid). See what your data is worth.
Common questions
What are AI data brokers?
Firms that buy internal records such as Slack, email, documents and CRM history from companies, remove sensitive details and resell or license them to AI developers. Business Insider described them in October 2026 as a "thriving group of go-betweens" that now buy from live companies, not only failed startups.
Is an email offering to buy my company's Slack and email a scam?
Often not: Business Insider reported that owners are getting real six-figure offers. Verify the firm on its own website, check the email domain, ask who the end buyer is, and share nothing until you have an NDA and a written offer.
Why do AI data broker offers expire in 48 hours?
A short deadline stops sellers from checking terms and comparing prices. Business Insider quoted a data firm cofounder saying 48-hour deadlines have become common. No legitimate buyer needs an answer before you have read the terms and checked your rights.
What should an AI data licensing offer include?
The buyer that signs and pays, the license scope, whether it is exclusive, the price basis and payment dates, what is de-identified before delivery, and the real deadline.
Can I sell employees' Slack messages and emails?
Only if you have the right to. Check employee notices and agreements, customer and vendor contracts, and privacy law where your staff and customers live. Business Insider reported that employees rarely know about such sales.
How much do AI data buyers pay companies?
Published ranges include $100K to $4M+ at Handshake AI and $100K to $3M+ at micro1, and Mercor lists company ranges such as $50k to $1.2M for a law firm. Google bid $10 million for Spirit Airlines' data.