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AI Data Payout

Updated October 2026

Earnouts and data licensing income: questions to raise

Independent and sourced. We feature companies that pay us a referral fee. Our scores and reviews don't change for it. How we earn

Part of your sale price depends on how the business does after closing. Meanwhile an AI company may pay to license a copy of the company's records, on its own schedule. How the two interact is a question for your deal team, and what they will need first is how each buyer pays. Polyshares, for one, describes a non-dilutive license fee paid to the company.1

Match my companyWhat is it worth?

Payment shapes

One payment, or a share over time

Buyers pay in two broad shapes. A fee on a set schedule, with the amount and payment dates agreed in writing before anything is exported. Or a share over time: Troveo describes licensing on a revenue share, with the percentage not published. Speeds vary, but a scheduled fee usually arrives around 3-6 weeks after signing, sometimes longer.2,1,3,4,5,6

The shape matters in an earnout. A single payment lands once, on a date you can name in the purchase agreement. A revenue share keeps arriving after closing, which raises the question of who it belongs to.

One payment, or a share over time
FactValue and source
How Mode buys

Buys an agreed copy of the records directly, charges no broker fee, and resells the filtered copy for AI research and training; the company keeps its originals

The written agreement sets the amount, payment schedule, scope and any exclusivity before export.

[2] Mode company data site · company's own claim ·

Payment structure

A license fee paid by Polyshares to the company; non-dilutive, with no equity or debt

Polyshares does not say whether the fee is paid once or in instalments.

[1] Polyshares data licensing · company's own claim ·

Deal structure

Licensing, not sale, on a revenue share (percentage not published)

[4] Troveo · company's own claim ·

Mode timeline

A 14-day nonbinding letter of intent holds the estimate while Mode reviews the data; after acceptance it collects and scrubs the data over 15 to 30 days; payment expected within about 60 days

Its site FAQ says about three months from first conversation through payment.

[15] Mode press release (Business Wire, via Yahoo Finance) · company's own claim ·

Counting it

Will data income count toward the earnout target?

Nothing published answers that, because earnout definitions are written deal by deal. The practical step is to raise it before the definitions are drafted. If revenue or EBITDA drives the earnout, decide whether license income is in or out; if a customer metric drives it, decide whether licensing affects it at all. These are questions for the buyer and your deal team, listed below.

Scale

How large the income can be next to an earnout

Published ranges for operating companies mostly run $100K to $2M, as the buyers' own claims. BizBuySell's Q2 2026 closed deals averaged about $850K by our arithmetic. For a business near that average, a license can be a real share of the total, which is why it belongs in the conversation early, and the quiz tells you which buyers would look at yours.7,8,9,10,11

Eligibility is checked when you license, not when you sold. Most buyers want 20 to 30 or more employees, and only some count staff at their peak. An earnout period with integration and layoffs can move a company below a floor.12,13,14

FAQ

Questions, answered with sources

  • Both exist. Some buyers pay a fee on a set schedule and others describe a revenue share, so ask which before the earnout terms are drafted.4,1,3

  • Speeds vary, but it's usually around 3-6 weeks, sometimes longer. Some buyers pay only after they accept the data in writing, so ask when the clock starts.5,6,16,17

  • Published ranges mostly run $100K to $2M, as the buyers' own claims. Next to a typical small-business sale, that can be a real share of the total.7,8,9,10

  • Not in the deals described so far. Polyshares describes its fee as non-dilutive, with no equity or debt involved, so the earnout math stays separate from ownership.1

  • They can. Most buyers want 20 to 30 or more employees and only some count staff at your peak, so ask each buyer how it counts before integration cuts begin.12,18,13,14

  • Troveo describes licensing on a revenue share but does not publish the percentage or term. Ask for both in writing.4

  • 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.

  • 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

  • If license payments arrive after closing, who receives them: the seller, the company or the acquirer?
  • How does a license affect a sale of the business: reps and warranties, change of control, earnouts, exclusivity?
  • How is the payment taxed?

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?

How this page was made

Figures come from the published sources listed below, and what a buyer says about itself is its own claim. Anything marked as our estimate is ours, not a buyer quote. Drafted with AI help from our research, then checked against each source. Updated October 2026.

We feature companies that pay us a referral fee. Our scores and reviews don't change for it. See how we earn and how we rank. This site does not give legal, tax or financial advice.

Sources (18)

  1. 1.Polyshares data licensing. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  2. 2.Mode company data site. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  3. 3.Polyshares website. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  4. 4.Troveo, published 11 Sep 2026. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  5. 5.Mercor Data page. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  6. 6.Cognor Labs manufacturing page. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  7. 7.micro1 company referral page. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  8. 8.Polyshares website. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  9. 9.Ventra company data page. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  10. 10.Mode company data site. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  11. 11.Small Business Trends, reporting BizBuySell. Accessed 14 Oct 2026.
  12. 12.Mode company data site. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  13. 13.micro1 company referral page. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  14. 14.Pewter website. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  15. 15.Mode press release (Business Wire, via Yahoo Finance), published 13 Oct 2026. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  16. 16.Your Data Value website. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  17. 17.micro1 Data License Master Terms, published 7 Oct 2026. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  18. 18.Cognor Labs partners page. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.