Short answer: For an operating company, the buyers that publish the most are Mode (10+ legal, 15+ accounting, medical, finance, 50+ others; US, CA, UK, AU; $100K-$5M), micro1 (30+; US first; $100K-$2M+), Handshake AI (20+ staff, 3+ years; $100K-$4M+), Scale AI (40+ preferred; $10K-$1M+ illustrative) and Turing's Project Lazarus (up to $1M, operating or winding-down). SimpleClosure serves startups shutting down. We may be paid by Mode and micro1 only.
On this page
Buyers: they license the data themselves
| Program | What it is | Headcount rule | Countries | Published payout or price | Details published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode (BizBuyData) We may be paid | Buyer (licenses the data and resells to its AI customer) | 10+ employees for legal; 15+ for accounting, medical and finance; 50+ for all others | United States, Canada, United Kingdom or Australia only | $100K to $5M program-wide. US indicative bands: $200K-$500K (20-49 staff), $400K-$900K (50-149), $800K+ (150+); under 20 quoted individually | 7 of 7 |
| micro1 Enterprise Data Partnership We may be paid | Buyer / data partner | 30+ employees | US prioritized, then other Western markets; data primarily in English | $100K-$2M+ for approved data packages | 4 of 7 |
| Handshake AI No relationship | Buyer ("We purchase data directly from companies") | 20+ full-time employees and 3+ years in operation | Not published on its license page (its form asks for country) | $100K to $4M+ payouts | 3 of 7 |
| Scale AI Data Partnerships No relationship | Buyer / data partner | 40+ employees is its preferred starting point, assessed case by case | Not published | $10K-$1M+ illustrative value per data partnership, scaling with cadence | 3 of 7 |
| Turing (Project Lazarus) No relationship | Buyer | Not published | Not published on the page we could read | A single payout of up to $1M | 3 of 7 |
Ordered by how many of seven details each program publishes (headcount, countries, records, price, exclusivity, exclusions, timeline). This is a count of what's public, not a quality score.
Marketplaces and wind-down services
| Program | What it is | Headcount rule | Countries | Published payout or price | Details published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SimpleClosure AssetHub No relationship | Marketplace for startups shutting down | Not published | Not published | Not published on its page | 1 of 7 |
| Protege No relationship | Data platform for AI builders and data providers | Not published | Not published | Not published | 1 of 7 |
These don't buy your data for their own account. SimpleClosure's AssetHub sells code and workspace data for startups it helps shut down (SimpleClosure). Protege is a data platform focused on healthcare, video, audio and spatial data (Protege).
Program by program
Mode (BizBuyData) We may be paid
- Years, systems, records: 3+ years of records still in their systems; 5+ systems (email, internal chat, file storage, a CRM, plus one more)
- Published payout or price: $100K to $5M program-wide. US indicative bands: $200K-$500K (20-49 staff), $400K-$900K (50-149), $800K+ (150+); under 20 quoted individually
- Exclusivity: Exclusive. The company agrees not to license the same data for external AI training for 24 months (affiliate FAQ); the company page says the agreement defines scope and any exclusivity
- Data excluded: Health records, payment card data and children's data are excluded. Not a fit: staffing, insurance, title and escrow
- Timeline: About 2 to 3 months from first call to payment
- How introductions work: If someone introduces you, Mode registers the referral to them (first written referral gets credit). Mode says it pays the referral fee on top of your offer, not out of it
Source: Mode / BizBuyData referral page, Mode affiliate FAQ (PDF, dated Oct 14, 2026), Mode company data partnerships page (FAQ). Our guide.
micro1 Enterprise Data Partnership We may be paid
- Years, systems, records: Mature business operations with operational data such as SOPs, internal documentation, knowledge bases, CRM metadata, project histories and QA processes
- Published payout or price: $100K-$2M+ for approved data packages
- Exclusivity: Not published on its company referral page
- Data excluded: Not published on its company referral page
- Timeline: Not published for companies
- How introductions work: To credit a referrer, the company signs up and applies through the referrer's unique link; applications created without it can't be credited later
Source: micro1 company referral page, micro1 Referral Program Terms (last updated Oct 14, 2026). Our guide.
Handshake AI No relationship
- Years, systems, records: Business records from tools such as Gmail, Slack, Drive, NetSuite, QuickBooks and Figma
- Published payout or price: $100K to $4M+ payouts
- Exclusivity: Not published
- Data excluded: Not published; says data is scoped, de-identified and confidential
- Timeline: Not published on the pages we read
- How introductions work: Handshake says it pays $10K to someone who introduces a business that becomes a partner
Source: Handshake AI data partnerships: license page, Handshake: Introducing Handshake AI Employer Data Partnerships.
Scale AI Data Partnerships No relationship
- Years, systems, records: Years of records in established systems; real operational workflows
- Published payout or price: $10K-$1M+ illustrative value per data partnership, scaling with cadence
- Exclusivity: Not published
- Data excluded: Not published; says it anonymizes inside your environment before extraction
- Timeline: Not published
- How introductions work: Says referrers can earn up to $50,000; only one referral is paid per deal
Source: Scale AI Data Partnerships page and FAQ.
Turing (Project Lazarus) No relationship
- Years, systems, records: The operating record: communications, code and tickets, wikis and runbooks
- Published payout or price: A single payout of up to $1M
- Exclusivity: Not published
- Data excluded: Not published; says personal data and secrets are removed before anything reaches a model
- Timeline: Intake call within one business day; sample review usually within a week
- How introductions work: Advertises up to $10K for referrers
Source: Turing, Project Lazarus page.
SimpleClosure AssetHub No relationship
- Years, systems, records: SourceCode and WorkspaceData (Slack, Drive, email, Notion, Figma and more)
- Published payout or price: Not published on its page
- Exclusivity: Not published
- Data excluded: Not published; says every dataset is processed for PII
- Timeline: Not published
- How introductions work: Not applicable
Source: SimpleClosure AssetHub page, Business Wire: SimpleClosure Launches Asset Hub (Apr 16, 2026).
Protege No relationship
- Years, systems, records: Focus areas listed: healthcare, video, audio and speech, spatial and physical, other domains
- Published payout or price: Not published
- Exclusivity: Not published
- Data excluded: Not published
- Timeline: Not published
- How introductions work: Not applicable
Source: Protege home page.
Which to start with
Law firm 10+, or accounting, medical, finance firm 15+ (US, CA, UK, AU)
Mode publishes the lowest minimums for these professions. Handshake AI's 20+ rule also applies at 20 and up.
US company with 20-29 staff outside those professions
Handshake AI is the only program here whose published minimum you meet.
US company with 30-49 staff
micro1 and Handshake AI; Scale AI from 40. Compare.
50+ staff
Most programs here. Get several written offers. Compare.
Outside the US
Mode (CA, UK, AU). Compare.
Closed, winding down or acquired
Turing Lazarus (winding-down) and SimpleClosure (shutdowns). Compare.
What to ask any program
- Is the license exclusive, for how long, and does it cover data I create later?
- Who de-identifies the data, and can I audit a sample before it's delivered?
- What's excluded (health, payment card, client-confidential data)?
- When am I paid, and what can make a payment fall through?
- Is anyone being paid for introducing me, and does it come out of my offer?
How we rank and what we're paid
How we rank. We order programs first by whether a company like yours meets each program's published rules, then by how much each program publishes (headcount, countries, records, price, exclusivity, exclusions, timeline). Referral fees play no part. Of the programs compared here, we have referral relationships with Mode and micro1 (marked We may be paid); we have none with the other programs listed.
Sponsored placements: there are none on this page. If we ever accept one, it will be labeled Sponsored where it appears.
What could your company's records be worth?
Answer 6 questions. See the published range for a company like yours and which program fits. Takes about a minute.
Frequently asked questions
Which AI data program pays companies the most?
No program publishes comparable offers. The highest published figures are Mode's $100K-$5M range and Handshake AI's $100K-$4M+. Ranges are not offers.
Why do you list programs that don't pay you?
So the comparison is complete. Of the programs here, we may be paid by Mode and micro1 only, and rankings follow published rules, not fees.
Do you accept paid placements?
Not today. If we ever do, the placement will be labeled Sponsored where it appears, and it won't change the ranking method.
Sources
- Mode / BizBuyData referral pagebizbuydata.com
- Mode affiliate FAQ (PDF, dated Oct 14, 2026)bizbuydata.com
- Handshake AI data partnerships: license pagejoinhandshake.com
- Handshake: Introducing Handshake AI Employer Data Partnershipsjoinhandshake.com
- micro1 company referral pagemicro1.ai
- Scale AI Data Partnerships page and FAQscale.com
- Turing, Project Lazarus pagelazarus.turing.com
- SimpleClosure AssetHub pagesimpleclosure.com
- Business Wire: SimpleClosure Launches Asset Hub (Apr 16, 2026)businesswire.com
- Protege home pagewithprotege.ai
Referral-fee disclosure: DataWorth AI may be paid a referral fee by Mode or micro1 if a company we introduce, or that signs up through our link, signs a deal. Mode says its fee is paid on top of the company's offer, not out of it. We are not an agent of any program. General information only, not legal advice. Disclosure