Category stringclasses 5
values | Seller stringlengths 5 43 | Buyer stringlengths 4 52 | Date stringlengths 4 12 | What was licensed or sold stringlengths 12 127 | Reported value stringlengths 11 109 | Status stringclasses 7
values | Source stringlengths 73 240 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Company and operational records | Spirit Airlines (bankruptcy estate) | Technology company (winning bidder) | Aug 2026 | About 100 million emails, 500 million Teams chats, documents, spreadsheets and other business data; passenger profiles excluded | $10M winning bid; $7.5M alternate bid | Not yet approved; sale hearing set for Nov 6, 2026 | Axios <https://www.axios.com/2026/08/17/google-spirit-airlines-bankruptcy>; Chapter 11 Cases <https://chapter11cases.com/blogs/news/spirit-airlines-case-update-the-data-sale-slips-to-november-as-spirit-moves-to-unwind-the-hfs-aircraft-deal> |
Company and operational records | A closed crypto startup | Undisclosed buyer | 2026 | Its code base, plus workspace data from Google, Notion, Figma and Slack | About $25,000 for the code; workspace data likely around $15,000, pending | Code sold; workspace data pending | MIT Technology Review (Oct 2026) <https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/10/13/1145755/ai-labs-buying-data-from-dead-startups-to-train-models/> |
Company and operational records | Shut-down startups, through wind-down firms | AI developers and data vendors | 2025 to 2026 | Internal Slack chats and email threads, used to build simulated workplaces for AI agents | Some deals reportedly reached six figures; one wind-down firm reported nearly 100 such transactions in a year | Ongoing | Forbes, via Newser (Apr 2026) <https://www.newser.com/story/387644/failed-startups-sell-slack-chats-emails-to-train-ai.html> |
Platforms, images and user content | Reddit | Google | Feb 2024 | Posts and comments | About $60M a year | Signed | Reuters, via The Decoder <https://the-decoder.com/reddit-signs-60-million-annual-training-data-deal-with-google/> |
Platforms, images and user content | Reddit | Multiple buyers | 2024 | Data licensing contracts disclosed in IPO filing | $203M aggregate contract value over 2 to 3 years | Signed | Quartz, citing TechCrunch <https://qz.com/ai-training-data-pricing-licensing-deals-market-052126> |
Platforms, images and user content | Shutterstock | Multiple AI companies | 2023 | Images, video and metadata | $104M of AI licensing revenue in 2023 | Signed | Bloomberg Law (June 2024) <https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/shutterstocks-ai-licensing-business-generated-104-million> |
Platforms, images and user content | Photobucket | Several AI companies (talks) | Apr 2024 | About 13 billion images and videos | Asking roughly 5 cents to $1 per photo, more per video | Negotiation, not a signed price | Reuters, via The Decoder <https://the-decoder.com/tech-giants-are-on-a-billion-dollar-shopping-spree-for-ai-training-data/> |
Platforms, images and user content | Stack Overflow | OpenAI | May 2024 | Developer questions and answers | Undisclosed | Signed | LLM Pulse deal map <https://llmpulse.ai/blog/ai-content-licensing-deals/> |
News publishers | News Corp | OpenAI | May 2024 | Archive and current reporting | More than $250M over five years | Signed | WSJ, via WION <https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/openai-secures-major-content-deal-with-news-corp-724479> |
News publishers | News Corp | Meta | Mar 2026 | US and UK content for AI answers and training | Up to $50M a year, at least three years | Signed | WSJ, via RightsTech <https://rightstech.com/2026/03/news-corp-meta-in-ai-content-licensing-deal-worth-up-to-50-million-a-year/> |
News publishers | Axel Springer | OpenAI | Dec 2023 | News content | Tens of millions of euros a year | Signed | Bloomberg, via The Decoder <https://the-decoder.com/axel-springer-and-openai-license-agreement-is-worth-tens-of-millions-of-euros-per-year/> |
News publishers | Dotdash Meredith | OpenAI | 2024 | Magazine and web content | About $16M a year | Signed | Adweek <https://www.adweek.com/media/dotdash-merediths-openai-deal-is-worth-16-million-per-year/> |
News publishers | The New York Times | Amazon | May 2025 | News, recipes and sports content | $20M to $25M a year | Signed | WSJ, via GeekWire <https://www.geekwire.com/2025/report-amazon-to-pay-at-least-20m-a-year-in-ai-content-deal-with-new-york-times/> |
News publishers | Financial Times | OpenAI | Apr 2024 | Archive and current reporting | Undisclosed | Signed | Mobile World Live <https://www.mobileworldlive.com/ai-cloud/openai-inks-content-deal-with-financial-times/> |
News publishers | Publishers in Comet Plus | Perplexity | Aug 2025 | Content used in AI answers and browsing | $42.5M initial pool; 80% of Comet Plus revenue to publishers | Program | Axios <https://www.axios.com/2025/08/26/perplexity-comet-plus-subscription> |
Books and academic publishing | Wiley | Undisclosed technology company | 2024 | Academic and professional books | $23M one-time deal; about $44M of AI rights revenue expected for the year | Signed | The Bookseller <https://www.thebookseller.com/news/wiley-set-to-earn-44m-from-ai-rights-deals> |
Books and academic publishing | Taylor & Francis (Informa) | Microsoft | May 2024 | Academic content | $10M initial agreement | Signed | Quartz <https://qz.com/ai-training-data-pricing-licensing-deals-market-052126> |
Books and academic publishing | HarperCollins | Undisclosed (reported as Microsoft) | Nov 2024 | Nonfiction backlist, author opt-in | $5,000 per title for three years, half to the author | Signed | Publishers Weekly <https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20241125/96533-agents-authors-question-harpercollins-ai-deal.html> |
Video, driving, spatial and audio datasets | NATIX (driving-camera network) | A lab building world models | Oct 2026 | 3,000 hours of real-world driving video | Six figures | Signed, as stated by the seller | Machine Economy <https://machineeconomy.co.uk/briefings/natix-driving-data-sale> |
Video, driving, spatial and audio datasets | Aerometrex (aerial survey firm) | Two AI technology companies | Jun 2026 | Existing 3D and LiDAR spatial datasets | A$1.07M combined | Signed | Business News Today <http://business-news-today.com/aerometrex-asx-amx-turns-spatial-data-into-ai-revenue-with-neara-and-zeromatter-deals/> |
Video, driving, spatial and audio datasets | GoPro subscribers | Buyers through GoPro's AI training licensing program | Aug 2025 | More than 125,000 hours of opted-in video | Owners receive 50% of license revenue | Program | GoPro <https://investor.gopro.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/GoPro-Subscribers-Quickly-Opt-In-More-Than-125000-Hours-of-Video-Content-for-AI-Training-Licensing-Program/default.aspx> |
Video, driving, spatial and audio datasets | SourceAudio (music library) | Several AI music companies | 2025 | Pre-cleared songs from a catalog of more than 14 million | Nearly $10M of new annual recurring revenue since May 2025 | Program | SourceAudio (Sep 2025) <https://www.sourceaudio.com/blog/2025/09/24/sourceaudio-signs-deal-with-music-ai-to-provide-licensed-music-for-ethical-ai-training> |
Public AI data licensing deals, 2023 to 2026
A sourced table of publicly reported deals in which AI developers licensed or bought data: news archives, books, platform and user content, video, driving and spatial data, and the rarer sales of company and operational records such as email, team chat and workspace archives.
Each row is one deal, taken from a public source (a company announcement, a court filing or a news report) that is linked in the row. Reported values are given as the source states them. Deals with no published price say so.
- Rows: 22
- Period: 2023 to October 2026
- Maintained by: Origin Data Partners
- Live version and methods: https://origindatapartners.com/guides/ai-data-licensing-deals
Columns
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Category | Type of data: company and operational records; platforms, images and user content; video, driving, spatial and audio datasets; news publishers; books and academic publishing |
| Seller | The organization that licensed or sold the data, or a description where the source does not name it |
| Buyer | The AI developer or acquirer, or a description such as "Undisclosed buyer" where the source does not name one |
| Date | Month and year (or year) of the reported deal |
| What was licensed or sold | The data covered, as described by the source |
| Reported value | The price, range or terms reported by the source, or "Undisclosed" |
| Status | Signed, ongoing, in negotiation, or awaiting court approval, as reported |
| Source | The publication or filing, with its URL |
How it was compiled
Origin Data Partners collected deals from public announcements, court filings and news coverage, and kept only deals with a public source. Where a source does not name a party, the row describes it instead (for example, "A closed crypto startup"). Values are not estimated or adjusted. Status reflects the source at the date checked. Pending rows are updated when an outcome is reported.
License and citation
CC BY 4.0. You can share and adapt this data with attribution.
Origin Data Partners (2026). Public AI data licensing deals, 2023 to 2026 [Data set]. https://origindatapartners.com/guides/ai-data-licensing-deals
About Origin Data Partners
Origin Data Partners is an independent data partner that helps companies get their data bought. It values a company's operating records and introduces it to AI developers that license them. A buyer may pay Origin when a deal closes. https://origindatapartners.com
- Downloads last month
- 61