Updated October 2026
micro1's $12.5M bid for Spirit Airlines' data
The offer
What micro1 put on the docket
The notice of intent (Dkt. 1556) says the $12.5M is payable entirely from cash on hand, with no financing contingency and no board or investment-committee condition. It tops Mercor's alternate bid by $5M as well. These are micro1's own terms as filed; the court has not ruled on them.1
Its privacy terms differ from Google's. micro1 would de-identify the data itself and pay for it, hand an independent reviewer a 1% sample before any onward transfer, keep the records in the U.S., destroy raw employment records after processing, and pass data only to AI lab customers bound by confidentiality and no-reassociation terms. The filing does not name those labs.3
| Fact | Value and source |
|---|---|
| micro1's notice of intent | micro1 filed a notice of intent on 2026-09-03 (Dkt. 1556): $12.5M cash from cash on hand, no financing contingency, $2.5M (25%) above Google's successful bid and $5M above Mercor's alternate bid |
| micro1's proposed terms | In-house de-identification at micro1's cost, an independent reviewer given a 1% sample before any onward transfer, U.S. storage, raw employment records destroyed after processing, and onward transfers only to AI lab customers bound by confidentiality and no-reassociation terms |
Timing
Why the bid came late, and what that means
The auction had ended on 2026-08-14 with Google's $10.0M as the successful bid and Mercor at $7.5M as the alternate. micro1's filing arrived about three weeks later, while objections were still coming in and before the ombudsman's first report on 2026-09-08.4,5,6
The ombudsman later recommended approving the sale to Google. On micro1, she said she would want to review its plan to de-identify the data in-house rather than through an independent party. Whether the higher offer changes anything is for the hearing on 2026-11-06.7,8,9
Who micro1 is
The same company now advertising to business owners
micro1 says it has committed $1B over 12 months to buy company data, pays $100K-$2M+ per data package and asks for 30+ employees.10,11,12
Since 2026-10-09 micro1 has also run ads to people who ran a company that is no longer operating, headlined that a previous company's data could be worth up to $2M, for US companies with 25+ employees at their peak. That figure is micro1's own ad claim.13
FAQ
Questions, answered with sources
$12.5M in cash, in a notice of intent filed on 2026-09-03.1
In-house de-identification at its cost, a 1% sample for an independent reviewer, U.S. storage, destruction of raw employment records and limits on onward transfer.3
The filing says it is payable entirely in cash from cash on hand, with no financing contingency.1
That she would want to review micro1's plan to de-identify the data itself instead of using an independent party.8
We do not answer legal questions. Ask the licensing company: their team reviews this with you before anything is signed.
Before you sign
Legal questions go to the licensing company
We do not answer legal questions. Ask the licensing company before you sign: their team reviews these with you.
Questions for this kind of business
- If you de-identify our data in-house, will an independent reviewer see a sample before it goes to any lab?
- Is a consumer privacy ombudsman, court approval, or notice and a hearing needed?
Questions for any buyer
- Is the license exclusive, and for how long?
- Can you sublicense the data, and to whom?
- Which AI labs will receive it, and will you tell us?
- How long do you keep it, and how is it deleted?
- What is your liability cap, and who indemnifies whom?
- Will the contract ban re-identification of people in the data?
- Who removes personal data, by what method, and do we approve it first?