Updated October 2026
What happens after you license your data
You have signed, or nearly, and want to know what follows. In the deals buyers describe, you get paid, the buyer deletes the raw export, and a cleaned version goes on to train AI models. Payment speeds vary, but it's usually around 3-6 weeks, sometimes longer, and buyers say raw files are deleted within 30 to 60 days. Your originals and your business carry on unchanged.1,2,3,4,5,6
The money
When and how you are paid
Speeds vary, but it's usually around 3-6 weeks, sometimes longer. Some buyers pay only once they accept the data in writing, which can add a few weeks. If a broker sits between you and the buyer, ask whether the buyer pays you directly or the broker passes it on.1,6,4,5,7,8
Some deals pay more than once, through repeat deals or a revenue share, but most published prices are one-off amounts for a defined set of records.9,10
The files
What happens to the copy you handed over
The raw export is cleaned, then deleted, anywhere from right after processing to about two months later. The cleaned copy is what moves on, and the license decides how long it is kept, sometimes with no way to pull it back out of the models trained on it, so read that clause before you sign.2,11,3,12,13
Where it goes is not always visible. MIT Technology Review found sellers often cannot see which AI lab ends up with their data, and the licensing company usually will not name it. What you can get in writing is the kind of recipient and what is ruled out, such as a promise never to license to your competitors.14,15
Your paperwork
What to keep on file
Keep the signed agreement, the list of what was included and left out, proof the raw files were deleted, and the payment record. Frankfurt Kurnit tells sellers to document data deals in case the business is sold later. Ask the buyer too what happens to your data if it is acquired or shuts down.16
Next time
Can you do it again?
Under a license that is not exclusive, you may be able to license the same records again, or new records as they pile up, while some buyers license exclusively by default. Some buyers also aim at companies that have never licensed data before, so one deal may change who will take the next. If you are still choosing, our quiz introduces you to the buyers we work with that fit your company, so you can compare their terms before you sign.12,17,18
FAQ
Questions, answered with sources
Not necessarily. MIT Technology Review found sellers often cannot see the end buyer. Ask for named labs in the agreement.14
The agreement, the list of what was included and left out, proof of deletion and the payment record. Frankfurt Kurnit tells sellers to document data deals in case the business is sold.16
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
- What happens to our data if the buyer is acquired or shuts down?
- 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?