The Workflow Dividend
Guide › What it's worth
What is your company's data worth to AI companies?
You'll want a number for your company before you spend any time on this. Nobody can value your data without seeing it, so be wary of anyone who quotes one upfront. What I can give you is the published figures and the factors that move the price.
Published price ranges
- micro1 says its Company Data Partnerships range from $100K to $3M+, depending on the size, quality and uniqueness of the data.
- Closed startups have sold old chat and email archives for $10K to $100K. One airline's records drew a bid of $12.5M.
- Size, years of history, how complex your work is and how unusual your expertise is matter most.
- The only real figure is the one a program offers after reviewing your data. Getting that offer costs nothing.
Published figures for licensing company data
| What | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| micro1 partnership range | $100K to $3M+, depending on size, quality and uniqueness | micro1 creator guidelines (refer.micro1.ai/influencer/guidelines), checked Oct 23, 2026 |
| micro1 published tiers | $100k+, $500k+ and $1M+ | micro1 Data Partnerships page (micro1.ai/data-partnerships), checked Oct 23, 2026 |
| micro1 estimator, its own example | $50,284 to $92,776, indicative only | micro1 payout estimator (micro1.ai/data-estimate), checked Oct 23, 2026 |
| micro1 workflows | Paid per evaluation; rate not published | Grant Gooley interview (watch it on my micro1 review) |
| Closed startups, through a broker | $10K to $100K per deal | Fast Company, Apr 2026, checked Oct 23, 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
| micro1, companies no longer operating | $100K to $2M+, depending on the data (closed companies) | micro1 referral partner portal, Opportunities (refer.micro1.ai/opportunities), checked Oct 24, 2026 |
| Spirit Airlines records, bankruptcy auction | micro1 bid $12.5M for a very large dataset | Inc., Oct 2026, checked Oct 23, 2026 (opens in a new tab) |
Spirit is an outlier. A national airline holds hundreds of millions of messages and billions of records. The bids show how seriously buyers take this data, but a typical business shouldn't expect anything close.
What sets the price
micro1 values each deal individually. Six factors move the price.
Volume
How much data you hold, and in how many systems.
Years of history
More years give a fuller picture of how work gets done, which is why micro1's estimator asks for it.
Complexity of the work
Claims, contracts and complex projects, where people make judgment calls, earn more than simple repetitive tasks.
Specialist knowledge
Expertise that AI models haven't seen before commands a premium. Common workflows are worth less.
Headcount
A bigger team generates more activity and more varied examples. micro1 looks for 30+ employees.
Language and sensitivity
micro1 prefers English-language data. Regulated data, such as health records, can change the price or rule data out.
What the payment buys
The program pays for a license. You keep your company and your own copy of the data. The price reflects how useful a de-identified copy of your workflows is for training AI, and how hard similar data is to find.
micro1 says prices are high now because real-world data is scarce and will fall as more companies join. That's plausible. It's also a sales argument, so don't let it rush you.
How to get a firm figure for your company
- Gather the basics: headcount, years of records, the systems you use (email, chat, CRM, document storage), rough data sizes, and any regulated data, such as health or financial records.
- Decide what to leave out: client records, finances, anything covered by an NDA. Excluding data from the start is normal.
- Ask for a proposal. micro1 says it prices within a few days of a short form.
- Compare and check. Read the contract and ask the nine privacy questions before you decide.
More guides
- Why AI companies pay for business dataWhat they're buying, and why everyday work is valuable
- Is it a scam?The evidence the program is real, and six warning signs
- micro1 reviewWhat micro1 offers, and the concerns to weigh
- How names are protectedDe-identification explained, and what to ask before you sign
- If your company has closedWho qualifies, and who can still sign
About the author
Sean Key has been a freelance consultant for 22 years, mainly delivering data and digital projects into the NHS. He runs Applied Clinical Judgement, which connects professionals with AI training work, and helps established companies weigh up micro1's Company Data Partnerships program.
He isn't a lawyer and isn't employed by micro1. If your company signs up through his introduction, micro1 may pay him a referral fee at no cost to you.
Sean Key on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab) · Book a call (opens in a new tab)