Updated October 2026
Licensing your data before you sell your business
Every company that licenses data to AI buyers today is either operating or closed; none of the licensors on this site requires a sale. SimpleClosure, best known for wind-downs, says its marketplace is open to companies that are not closing: "You don't have to be shutting down".1
Who takes operating companies
Buyers that license from businesses still trading
micro1 asks for companies with 30+ employees, US first and mostly English data. Cognor and Nyne ask for 20+ staff and a few years of history, and Goldmined for 20. Polyshares says any company with real operating history. Turing's Project Lazarus covers operating and winding-down companies, and Troveo describes its deals as licensing, not sale, on a revenue share.2,3,4,5,6,7,8
| Fact | Value and source |
|---|---|
| Who can sell | Companies with 30+ employees, US first, mostly English data |
| Who can sell | 20+ US W-2 employees and 3+ years in business |
| Who can sell | Any company with real operating history |
| Operating companies on AssetHub | Says AssetHub is open to companies that are not closing: "You don't have to be shutting down" |
Order of operations
A workable order when both deals are in view
Start with headcount, because that is where eligibility is set and where a pre-sale business often shrinks. Then map what you hold: email, chat, the CRM, the project tool, the shared drive. Then ask two or three licensors for terms in writing before an acquirer's letter of intent arrives, so you know what you are deciding between.2
Timelines are short by M&A standards. Offers usually come within a few days to two weeks (Ventra 3 to 7 days, Polyshares 1-2 weeks, Project Lazarus about a week after sampling), and most buyers pay within 2-8 weeks of signing. A license can therefore be explored without holding up a sale process, though whether it should close first is a question for the licensing company and your deal team.9,10,11,12,13
Terms that matter in a sale
Exclusivity, ownership and what the acquirer will see
Three terms carry into an exit. Ownership: micro1 says the company keeps ownership of its data. Exclusivity: Polyshares labels its published deals perpetual and exclusive, while micro1 and Mercor say nothing about exclusivity on their program pages. Disclosure: one law firm writes that a prior data sale will come up in a later acquirer's diligence.14,15,16,17,18
FAQ
Questions, answered with sources
Plan on it. FKKS writes that a prior data sale comes up in diligence, with the review and exclusions documented.18
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 we license now and sell the company later, does the license pass to the acquirer, end, or need its approval?
- Should a license close before or after the sale, and what has to be disclosed?
- Who owns this data: the company, an estate, or someone else?
- Do customer, vendor or platform contracts, NDAs or API terms restrict this?
- How does a license affect a sale of the business: reps and warranties, change of control, earnouts, exclusivity?
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?