Which buyers of company data take a company your size
Quick answer, updated
20 of the 51 buyers in the index publish a size rule, and most of those minimums sit at 20 or 30 employees. On headcount alone, a 10-person company meets 3 of them, a 20-person company 12, a 30-person company 16 and a 50-person company 20. The other 31 publish no size rule, which means they have not said, not that they take anyone. Several buyers count peak headcount, so a company that has shrunk or closed can still qualify, and some set lower floors for law and accounting firms.
By David Persson, editor of Data Licensing Index.
Every published minimum, smallest first
This table lists every buyer in the index that publishes a size rule, smallest first, in the buyer’s own words. It comes straight from the index, so it changes when a row does. Each name links to the full record and its sources.
| Smallest company | Buyer | Tier | In the buyer’s words | Published range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any size | Polyshares | established | None stated: any company with real operating history, in any sector | Typically $100K to $2M, higher for large records; case studies from $110,000 to $450,000 |
| Any size | SuperAnnotate | established | Any size | $100K to $1M+ indicative valuation range |
| Any size | Turing (Project Lazarus) | established | No minimum stated | Single payout of up to $1M |
| 11+ | Databounties | new | 11+ employees | Not published |
| 20+, 3+ years | Handshake AI | established | 20+ full-time employees and 3+ years in operation | $100K to $4M+ |
| 20+, 3+ years | Nyne | established | 20+ full-time US W-2 employees and 3+ years of operational workflows | Six-figure payouts; partnerships “commonly worth $100K or more” |
| 20+ | DataPaid | new | 20+ full-time office employees (accounting firms 10+, law firms 6+); smaller companies reviewed case by case | $100K to $2M per company, presented as published buyer payout tiers ($100K+, $500K+, $1M+) for a buyer it does not name |
| 20+, 2+ years | DataReferrals | new | 20+ full-time desk employees (full-time contractors count) and at least 2 years of operating history | $100,000 to $2M+ paid to the company, per the unnamed lab’s published tiers |
| 20+ | License Your Data | new | 20+ employees | $50,000 to $1,000,000+; homepage states a $50,000 minimum bid for qualifying companies, which its Terms do not guarantee |
| 20 to 700, 5+ years | Miro Advisory | new | Roughly 20 to 700 people and 5+ years of operating history (referral guidance) | Operating datasets $100K to $4M+; private codebases $10K to $1M+ (indicative) |
| 20+, 3+ years | Montlake Licensing | new | 20+ full-time employees and 3+ years of records | $500K to $2.6M headline estimate, not an offer |
| 20+, 3+ years | Pewter | new | 20+ full-time staff (now or at peak) and 3+ years of records | $350,000 to $650,000 paid by its licensing partner to firms of 60 to 100 people; estimator illustration of $385K to $895K for a 100-person, 10-year firm |
| 30+ | micro1 | established | 30+ employees on micro1.ai/data-partnerships; its Enterprise Data Partnership post lists 30-200 employees. 50+ peak employees (Defunct Company Data Partnership). | $100K to $2M+ for approved data packages |
| 30+ | Mode (BizBuyData) | established | 6+ employees for legal; 10+ for accounting, finance and medical; 30+ for all other businesses or nonprofits | $100K to $5M; its calculator is indicative only |
| 30 to 200 | Actual Data | new | 30 to 200 employees | No fixed range; its homepage estimator shows $285,896 to $604,463 for its default inputs (50 employees, 10 years of data, US headquarters), labelled an indicative estimate only |
| 30+ | License My Data | new | Varies by buyer requirement: 30+ employees, 100+ employees, or 50+ employees at peak for companies that have stopped trading | Six and seven figures for business-data placements |
| 31+, 3+ years | Maryah | new | More than 30 employees, 3+ years in business, records in English | Estimator example: $800K to $1M for 100 employees, labeled illustrative and not an offer |
| 40+ | Scale AI | established | 40+ employees preferred; assessed case by case | $10K to $1M+ illustrative value per data partnership, scaling with cadence |
| 50+, 5+ years | AI26 | new | 50+ employees and 5+ years of operations | Up to $500k, with “no fixed payout” |
| 50+ | SourceX | new | 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded) and several years of operating history | Up to $4M; non-exclusive licensing is priced at roughly a quarter of the exclusive range |
A minimum is where a conversation can start, not a price. Each buyer’s published range sits in the last column, and the value estimator summarizes the ranges of the buyers your company meets.
Under 20 people
Three established buyers publish no lower limit at all:
- Polyshares: “Any company with real operating history, in any sector.”
- SuperAnnotate: “Any size, any industry, anywhere.” It adds that you need records built up over time and the rights to license them.
- Turing: “Any company with a real operating history and someone authorized to transfer the data.” It says it acquires from operating companies and from teams winding down or already closed.
Databounties, in the New tier, works with companies in the United States and the United Kingdom that have 11 or more employees.
Two buyers set lower floors for professional firms. Mode publishes 6+ employees for legal and 10+ for accounting, finance and medical, against 30+ for everyone else. DataPaid lists law firms with 6+ and accounting firms with 10+, and says smaller companies are reviewed case by case. There is a catch: client data from law, accounting, tax and health firms is the data that most often needs consent or anonymization before anyone can license it. We flag it before any introduction.
Below 20 people, the 31 buyers that publish no size rule are worth a question, because they have not ruled you out. Marketplaces list individual datasets for several buyers to license, which can suit a small team with one valuable archive.
20 to 49 people
This is where most published minimums sit. On headcount alone, a 20-person company meets 12 buyers and a 30-person company 16. The fine print decides more than the number:
| How the buyer counts | Buyers |
|---|---|
| Full-time employees | Handshake AI, Montlake Licensing, Pewter, SourceX |
| Full-time US W-2 employees | Nyne |
| Full-time office or desk employees | DataPaid (office), DataReferrals (desk, full-time contractors count) |
| Preferred, not required | Scale AI: “40+ employees is our preferred starting point” |
| More than 30 | Maryah |
If much of your team is part-time, outside the US or on contracts, count the way each buyer counts before you rule it in or out.
50 people and more
A 50-person company meets 20 of the published minimums. Two buyers start here: AI26 prioritizes active businesses with at least 50 employees and five years of operations, and SourceX is “best suited to companies with 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded)”.
Some buyers also publish an upper limit. Actual Data asks for 30 to 200 employees, Miro Advisory for “roughly 20–700 people”, and micro1’s posting for its Enterprise Data Partnership lists 30 to 200. A company of 300 people meets 19 of the published minimums.
If the company has shrunk or closed
Headcount at your peak counts at several buyers, which matters for a startup that has laid people off or wound down:
- Pewter: “Full-time staff, now or at your peak.”
- SourceX: 50+ full-time employees at peak.
- micro1: a separate track for companies no longer operating, with “50+ peak employees” and Teams or Slack data.
- License My Data: 50+ employees at peak for companies that have stopped trading.
The value estimator asks for people “now or at peak” for the same reason. If you are closing, the shutdown guide covers what to keep before tools are cancelled.
Years of history
Size is rarely the only rule. Eight buyers also publish a minimum number of years:
| Years | Buyers |
|---|---|
| 2+ | DataReferrals |
| 3+ | Handshake AI, Maryah, Montlake Licensing, Nyne, Pewter |
| 5+ | AI26, Miro Advisory |
SourceX asks for “several years of operating history”, and Mode says companies with several years of records they own are the strongest fit.
What a size rule does not tell you
- It is not a price. Buyers publish what they may pay. A real figure depends on the years of history, the number of systems, the language and how much personal data has to come out.
- No rule is not an open door. The 31 buyers without a published size rule may still have one they apply in private.
- Geography often matters as much. Many of the buyers above say they start with US companies, and some name the UK, Canada and Western Europe next.
To see the ranges of the buyers your company meets, move the sliders in the value estimator. For a closer estimate with the buyers that fit and the terms to watch, use the free value check. If you are weighing Handshake AI, micro1 and Mercor, read the side-by-side comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Can a company with fewer than 20 employees license its data to AI companies?
Some buyers say yes. Polyshares, SuperAnnotate and Turing publish no lower limit, Databounties takes US and UK companies with 11 or more employees, and Mode and DataPaid publish lower floors for small law and accounting firms. Most published minimums start at 20 or 30 employees.
Do contractors count toward a buyer's employee minimum?
It depends on the buyer. DataReferrals says full-time contractors count. SourceX says contractors are excluded. Most buyers say full-time employees and do not mention contractors, so ask before you rely on them.
Does peak headcount count if the company has shrunk or shut down?
For several buyers, yes. Pewter counts full-time staff now or at your peak, SourceX counts full-time employees at peak, micro1’s track for defunct companies asks for 50+ peak employees, and License My Data lists 50+ employees at peak for companies that have stopped trading.
What is the most common minimum company size?
20 or 30 employees. Handshake AI, Nyne, Montlake Licensing, Pewter, DataPaid, DataReferrals, License Your Data and Miro Advisory start at about 20. micro1, Mode, Actual Data, License My Data and Maryah start at about 30.
Do small law or accounting firms face a lower minimum?
At some buyers. Mode publishes 6+ employees for legal and 10+ for accounting, finance and medical, and DataPaid lists law firms with 6+ and accounting firms with 10+. Client data from these firms usually needs consent or anonymization before anyone can license it.
Sources
- 1.Polyshares Accessed .
- 2.SuperAnnotate: Data partnerships Accessed .
- 3.Turing: Project Lazarus Accessed .
- 4.Databounties Accessed .
- 5.Mode (BizBuyData) Accessed .
- 6.DataPaid Accessed .
- 7.DataReferrals Accessed .
- 8.Pewter Accessed .
- 9.SourceX Accessed .
- 10.Nyne: Data partnerships Accessed .
- 11.Scale AI: Data partnership Accessed .
- 12.Miro Advisory: Partners Accessed .
- 13.micro1: Defunct Company Data Partnership (posting) Accessed .
- 14.License My Data Accessed .
What is your company’s data worth?
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