Updated November 2026
Sieve review: who its data partner program is for
Sieve is a fit if you own media such as film, sports footage or podcasts, or run a business of 50 or more people doing physical work that can be recorded, and it is not a buyer for email, CRM or company files. Those owners should take our quiz. Sieve says capture partners need at least 50 employees and 500 hours submitted per week, and it publishes no rates.1,2,3,4
Our score
Not ranked
Not in our seller ranking
Capture partners need at least 50 employees and 500 hours submitted per week.3
Key facts
Sieve in its own words and others'
| Fact | Value and source |
|---|---|
| Sieve: what it wants | Licensed film, television, sports footage, podcasts, audiobooks, raw footage, gameplay and 3D assets, plus recordings of physical work such as assembly, repair and food preparation |
| Sieve: minimum for capture partners | At least 50 employees and 500 hours submitted per week, and it is looking for businesses of 50-500 employees to start |
| Sieve: how a license runs | You keep ownership. Sieve reviews quality and rights, drafts the agreement, handles formatting, metadata and packaging, then checks the delivery and pays |
| Sieve: pay | Publishes no rate. The per-hour rate is "heavily dependent on the environment and the tasks being performed" |
| Sieve: Y Combinator listing | Founders Mokshith Voodarla and Abhinav Ayalur, Y Combinator Winter 2022, team of 34, San Francisco |
| Sieve: company | Sieve, Inc. Its privacy policy gives an email contact and no street address |
Is this for my business?
Sieve has two programs, and neither takes office records
Sieve's license program covers film, television, sports footage, podcasts, audiobooks, raw footage, gameplay and 3D assets. Its capture program pays businesses whose teams record the physical tasks they already do, such as assembly, repair and food preparation. The page does not mention email, CRM or company files.1
Sieve's capture floor is at least 50 employees and 500 hours submitted per week, and it is looking for businesses of 50-500 employees to start. Those numbers appear in the FAQ on its partners page, which also says Sieve confirms fit after a first conversation.3,2
What does it pay?
Sieve publishes no rates or deal sizes
Sieve publishes no rate, and says the per-hour rate is heavily dependent on the environment and the tasks being performed. The partners page gives no deal size, exclusivity terms, seller fees or payment timing, so ask for all four in your first call. Its stated order is that you deliver, Sieve checks the delivery, then it pays.4,5,6
How does a deal run?
What Sieve handles, and what stays with you
Sieve says you keep ownership, and it reviews quality and rights, drafts the agreement, and handles formatting, metadata and packaging. A partnership can be scoped to the part of a catalog where rights can be confirmed, and incomplete metadata does not automatically disqualify a collection, which in our view helps older media libraries.6,7
Sieve says each agreement states permitted uses, personal or off-limits material is excluded or removed, and handling means encrypted transfer, access controls and agreed retention, with no period given.8
Sieve's capture program does not need every employee to take part, each participant signs a consent form, and Sieve provides the forms while you collect them.9
Who is behind it?
Who runs Sieve
Sieve, Inc. gives an email contact and no street address in its privacy policy. Y Combinator lists it in the Winter 2022 batch with founders Mokshith Voodarla and Abhinav Ayalur and a team of 34 in San Francisco. Sieve names Y Combinator, Swift Ventures, Matrix Partners and AI Grant as investors, and we could not confirm a funding total.10,11,12
Check first
How to check Sieve, or any buyer
The same checks for every company we profile. We state facts; you decide.
- 1.Find the company behind the ad: a legal name, a registered address and named people.
- 2.Ask for a written offer and a sample agreement before you send any data.
- 3.Ask who removes personal data, by what method, and approve it before anything is exported.
- 4.Ask which AI labs will receive the data, and whether you will be told.
- 5.Ask how they are paid: by you, by the buyer, or from a share of your deal.
- 6.Get terms from at least one other buyer before you answer.
Reader reviews
What people who worked with Sieve say
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FAQ
Questions, answered with sources
Sieve's partners page covers media libraries and recordings of physical work, and does not mention email, CRM or company files. Owners with those records should use our quiz.1
Sieve publishes no rate, and says the per-hour rate is heavily dependent on the environment and the tasks being performed.4
Sieve says not all employees need to take part, and each participant signs a consent form that Sieve provides.9
Sieve says not necessarily, because a partnership can be scoped to the part of a catalog where the rights can be confirmed.7
Every business is different, so this one is best talked through with the buyer you're working with. Their team goes over it with you before anything is signed.
Before you sign
Questions to talk through with your buyer
Every business is different, so these are best talked through with the buyer you're working with. Their team goes over them with you before anything is signed.
Questions for this kind of business
- How long do you keep our files, and how is deletion confirmed?
- Is the license exclusive, and who are the AI teams receiving it?
- How do CCPA, GDPR, UK GDPR and state privacy laws apply, and is de-identified data still personal information?
- How are employee data, union contracts and NLRA questions handled?
- Do customer, supplier or platform contracts, NDAs or API terms restrict this?
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?