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AI Data Payout

Updated November 2026

How to size a SolidWorks archive, and who says they want it

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Size a SolidWorks archive by counting parts, assemblies and drawings, then totaling the folders in GB and noting the oldest year. Ventra names SolidWorks in 2 of the 31 listings in its catalog and says it wants mechanical parts and assemblies, and Polyshares lists manufacturers with heavy CAD work as in demand, so the interest is real but still narrow.1,2,3,4

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Sizing

How to size a SolidWorks archive

Search your shared drives or vault by file type, and count SLDPRT parts, SLDASM assemblies and SLDDRW drawings separately, so a buyer can see how much is whole products and how much is single parts. Then total the folders in GB, the unit Polyshares uses for design files.5

Note what a buyer will ask next. Ventra's catalog reports each dataset by units, volume, formats, years covered, region and rights, so add your product lines, your revision history if you keep one, and the oldest modified date in the set, which is how Polyshares says to work out years in use.1,5

Export

How to export SolidWorks files with references intact

Pack and Go is SOLIDWORKS' own tool for this, gathering a model's parts, assemblies, drawings, references, design tables and Simulation results into one folder or zip file. Run it from inside SOLIDWORKS and not from File Explorer, because the File Explorer route lists only the document and its references.6,7

Inside SOLIDWORKS it also picks up drawings in folders you specify, parent parts of derived and mirrored parts, and linked design tables. Pack and Go works one model at a time, so don't run it across a full archive until a buyer has agreed what it wants, since Polyshares says its intake needs only the size.7,5

Who wants it

Who says they want SolidWorks data

Few firms name SolidWorks, so go by what they say about mechanical CAD. Ventra lists mechanical parts and assemblies, shows 7 Mechanical and manufacturing datasets in its catalog, and names SolidWorks in 2 of the 31 listings. Polyshares lists manufacturing and engineering firms with heavy CAD work as in demand.3,8,2,4

Cognor Labs, a broker we don't rank, names SolidWorks, Inventor and Fusion on its intake. Pewter names engineering among its strongest areas of demand. Mode's and Polyshares' published lists stop at AutoCAD, so raise SolidWorks early and ask whether they want native files or STEP exports.9,10,11,12

FAQ

Questions, answered with sources

  • Some AI data firms do, though few say so by name. Ventra names SolidWorks in 2 of its 31 catalog listings, and Cognor Labs names it on its intake, while most others talk about mechanical CAD in general.2,9

  • Ask the buyer, because few publish a preference. Keep the native SLDPRT, SLDASM and SLDDRW files either way, since Polyshares' AutoCAD guide says drawings often reference other files and whole folders should go together.13

  • Files tied to what happened next add the most, in our view. Troveo's automotive guide says a drawing linked to its test, production run and warranty claims is worth more than any of those alone, and 4 of the 31 listings in Ventra's catalog include CNC or other machine files.14,15

  • Pack and Go covers the model and its related files, but opened from File Explorer it lists only the document and its references. Open it inside SOLIDWORKS to pick up drawings in folders you specify and linked design tables, then spot-check the zip on another machine.7

  • A small shop can ask, because Ventra told us CAD datasets could even come from one person, given 3+ years of records in a listed country. Most other buyers set a staff minimum.16,17

  • 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

  • Do Dassault's terms say anything about licensing SolidWorks files for AI training?
  • How are customer part designs and NDA work kept out of what we license?
  • Will export-controlled parts be screened out before anything moves?
  • Who owns this data: the company, an estate, or someone else?
  • Do customer, supplier or platform contracts, NDAs or API terms restrict this?
  • Could the data include privileged material or trade secrets?

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 November 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 (17)

  1. 1.Ventra dataset catalog. Accessed 1 Nov 2026. Company's own claim.
  2. 2.Ventra dataset catalog. Accessed 1 Nov 2026. Company's own claim.
  3. 3.Ventra company data page. Accessed 1 Nov 2026. Company's own claim.
  4. 4.Polyshares broker portal, market criteria update (2026-10-22), published 22 Oct 2026. Accessed 22 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  5. 5.Polyshares AutoCAD data guide. Accessed 1 Nov 2026. Company's own claim.
  6. 6.SOLIDWORKS Help, Pack and Go Overview. Accessed 1 Nov 2026.
  7. 7.SOLIDWORKS Help, Pack and Go Overview. Accessed 1 Nov 2026.
  8. 8.Ventra dataset catalog. Accessed 1 Nov 2026. Company's own claim.
  9. 9.Cognor Labs, data licensing for manufacturers. Accessed 15 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  10. 10.Pewter partners page. Accessed 14 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  11. 11.Mode company data page. Accessed 15 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  12. 12.Polyshares intake catalog. Accessed 15 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  13. 13.Polyshares AutoCAD data guide. Accessed 1 Nov 2026. Company's own claim.
  14. 14.Troveo, How Automotive Companies Can License Their Data to AI Labs, published 15 Oct 2026. Accessed 15 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.
  15. 15.Ventra dataset catalog. Accessed 1 Nov 2026. Company's own claim.
  16. 16.Kyle at Ventra, email to AI Data Payout (2026-11-01), published 1 Nov 2026. Accessed 1 Nov 2026. Company's own claim.
  17. 17.Ventra fit criteria sent to AI Data Payout (2026-10-15), published 15 Oct 2026. Accessed 15 Oct 2026. Company's own claim.