Updated October 2026
Shutting down a startup? What founders have been paid for their data
Shutting down a startup means final payroll, dissolution filings and a last email to investors. More founders now add one more item: selling the company's code and data. MIT Technology Review reports that AI labs are buying training data from shut-down startups, and that Carta and AngelList estimates show annual shutdowns rising 26% to 56% in recent years.1,2
Who got paid
Two founders' deals, as reported
Keelan Miskell's crypto startup ran for about two and a half years before it closed. According to MIT Technology Review, it got about $25,000 for its code base, and about $15,000 for its workspace data was still pending. A short-lived company with a small team still found a buyer for its code.3,4
Cielo24 is the long-history case. It had 13 years of Slack, Jira and email when it sold, and the reported price was "hundreds of thousands of dollars". The gap between the two deals tracks, in our reading, the years of history and the volume each company built up.5
| Fact | Value and source |
|---|---|
| A closed crypto startup's data | About $25,000 for its code base, with about $15,000 for workspace data pending |
| The crypto startup behind the $25,000 code sale | Founder Keelan Miskell's crypto startup ran for about two and a half years before it closed |
| Cielo24 archive sale | Cielo24 sold 13 years of Slack, Jira and email for "hundreds of thousands of dollars" |
The usual range
What most shutdown data deals look like
SimpleClosure, which runs startup wind-downs, reports more than 150 data deals so far, with the typical one between $10K and $100K. MIT Technology Review reports that 47% of SimpleClosure's deals now include code or data, so the data sale is becoming a routine part of a shutdown rather than an oddity.6,7
Our reading: for most founders the data sale will not rescue the company or repay investors in full. It is one more asset to recover, and it is easier to recover early than late.
Where the money goes
Founders rarely keep the proceeds
MIT Technology Review reports that proceeds from a dead startup's data typically go to senior creditors and investors, not employees. A founder planning the shutdown should not assume the money comes to the founders. How it is distributed in a given company is a question for the board and the licensing company, not for us.8
In practice
Where the data step fits in a shutdown plan
Start before the team leaves. The engineers and operators who are still on payroll know which repositories matter, which Slack channels hold real decisions and where the documentation lives. Once they are gone, mapping the archive takes much longer.
Code and workspace data can go to market separately. In Miskell's case, workspace data from Google, Notion, Figma and Slack was offered for sale after the code base had already sold. Listing them as two assets gives a founder two chances at a buyer.9
Then ask two or three channels for a sample review, compare what each says it will exclude and pay, and only then cancel subscriptions. Agree in writing what is in scope before anything is exported.
FAQ
Questions, answered with sources
MIT Technology Review cites Carta and AngelList estimates showing annual startup shutdowns rising 26% to 56% in recent years.2
47% of SimpleClosure's deals now include code or data, according to MIT Technology Review.7
MIT Technology Review reports it typically goes to senior creditors and investors, not employees.8
In one reported case they were: a crypto startup's workspace data from Google, Notion, Figma and Slack was offered for sale after its code base sold.9
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 the startup still owes money, who decides how proceeds from the data license are paid out?
- Do our investor agreements give anyone a say over selling code or data during the shutdown?
- Who owns this data: the company, an estate, or someone else?
- What are the trustee's, assignee's, receiver's or board's duties, and who receives the proceeds?
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?