Basic Trace took part in none of these deals. Named companies are market examples, not clients. Only a buyer can make an offer.
Closed still counts
Records outlive the company. Several AI buyers publicly seek closed and winding-down companies.
- micro1
- Runs a referral track for defunct companies.
Source: micro1, 2026
- Polyshares
- Large appetite for closing companies.
Source: AIDataPayout, 2026
- Turing, Project Lazarus
- Invites active, winding-down and wound-down companies.
Source: Turing, 2026
- Practitioner survey
- Who should a shut-down startup talk to? 36 votes: micro1 19, Mercor 9, Handshake 5.
Archive rates
Two public trackers. Different samples, so figures differ.
| Tracker | Measure | Figure | Range | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SellYourAIData | Smoothed rate, per company archive | $50,000 | Typical $13,000-$860,000. +24% in 12 months. n=13. | SellYourAIData, 2026 |
| SellYourAIData | Median per employee, company archives | $4.3K | Typical $1.3K-$6.3K. n=6. | SellYourAIData, 2026 |
| AIData.Broker | Median for company records, per company | $278,000 | n=122. | AIData.Broker |
Buyer ranges
Ranges buyers publish themselves. Not offers.
| Buyer | Published range | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| micro1 | $100K-$2M+ packages | Tiers $500K-$2M and $2M+. Headline later read $100K-$3M+. | micro1, 2026 |
| Polyshares | Typically $100K-$2M+ | Polyshares, 2026; AIDataPayout, 2026 | |
| Mode (BizBuyData) | $100K-$5M | Estimator range. | BizBuyData, 2026 |
| Handshake AI | $100K-$4M+ | Third-party summary. | Regulr, 2026 |
Spirit Airlines auction
De-identified email, Teams, SharePoint and CRM records, sold at a bankruptcy auction.
| Bid | Bidder | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Opening bid | $5M | |
| Backup bid | Mercor | $7.5M |
| Winning bid | $10M | |
| Late offer (not winning) | micro1 | $12.5M |
Source: AIData.Broker; SellYourAIData, 2026
Disclosed deal value
Mostly large deals, not typical of one archive.
What buyers want
- Sectors
- Legal, accounting and finance; CAD-heavy engineering; games; architecture, engineering and construction.
Source: AIDataPayout, 2026
- Size and history
- Often 50+ employees, 3+ years of records, five systems in use.
Source: AIDataPayout, 2026
- Language and location
- Mainly English records. US companies first, then other Western markets.
Source: micro1, 2026
Published criteria only. Others can still have records a buyer wants.
Who is buying
Published programs for licensing business records. Not Basic Trace clients.
- Mercor
- micro1
- Scale AI
- Handshake AI
- Turing (Project Lazarus)
Source: SellYourAIData, 2026
Sources
- SellYourAIData, AI Data Rates
- SellYourAIData, Guide to AI Data Buyers
- AIData.Broker, homepage medians
- micro1, Data Partnerships
- micro1, Company Referral
- AIDataPayout, Polyshares buyer profile
- Polyshares, Answers
- BizBuyData (Mode)
- Regulr, Handshake AI buyer profile
- Frontierlist, Data buyers
- Chris Barber on X
- Turing, Project Lazarus
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