Updated October 2026
micro1 vs Polyshares: two buyers quoting the same range
Both of these buyers quote your company the same thing, $100K-$2M+, so price will not decide it for you. The terms will. Polyshares gives an offer in 1-2 weeks, Net 30-60 payment and an outside partner that strips personal details. micro1 publishes its full seller contract, which says the license is nonexclusive and perpetual, and it is far larger, with $100M+ raised at a $4B valuation.1,2,3,4,5,6
Side by side
micro1 and Polyshares, row by row
| Topic | micro1 | Polyshares |
|---|---|---|
| Range | $100K-$2M+ per package1 | $100K-$2M+ typical2 |
| Speed | 30 business days to accept delivery; invoice after acceptance7 | Offer 1-2 weeks after intake; Net 30-603 |
| Exclusivity | Nonexclusive, perpetual license5 | Exclusive by default; pages disagree on perpetual vs defined term8 |
| Personal data | Removed when relevant; some datasets get synthetic rewrites9,10 | A third-party partner strips personal details first; client-held data excluded4,11 |
| Size | 30+ employees12 | No headcount floor13 |
| Published deals | 50+ transactions in 45 days per a court filing; none itemised14 | Four listed, names confidential, including $110,000 and $300,000 deals15 |
The big difference
Exclusive or not
This is the clause that changes your options. micro1's published license is nonexclusive, so in principle you can license the same records elsewhere, though its terms ask you to warrant you have not already licensed the same data on similar terms. Polyshares says its licenses are exclusive by default, and its track record calls each deal perpetual and exclusive. Settle this before comparing prices.5,8,15
Client data
For firms that hold client records
Agencies, accountants and service firms hold data on behalf of clients. Polyshares states that such data is excluded from its license. micro1 removes personal data when relevant and may rewrite some datasets synthetically. Ask each in writing what happens to a client's documents sitting in your shared drive.11,9,10
Verifying
How much each lets you verify
micro1 is a Delaware corporation with independent press coverage and a published contract. Polyshares names two partners and lists its deals, but publishes no address, state of incorporation, terms of service or privacy policy, and its domain hosted an unrelated crypto site in 2023. Ask Polyshares for its corporate details before sending samples.16,17,18
We work with both. The quiz checks which of them takes a company like yours, since micro1 asks for 30+ employees and Polyshares sets no floor, and introduces you to whichever fits, so you can put the two sets of terms side by side.12,13
FAQ
Questions, answered with sources
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
- Do customer, vendor or platform contracts, NDAs or API terms restrict this?
- Do professional rules apply (AICPA, IRC 7216, HIPAA, ABA Model Rule 1.17, insurance agency contracts, adviser rules, state boards)?
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?