Buyer profile
micro1's data partnership program: what it buys, who qualifies, and what it pays
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The short answer
micro1 pays established companies to license a de-identified copy of their operating records, such as SOPs, knowledge bases, CRM data and project histories, for training AI. It advertises $100K+ for a qualified partnership, $500K+ for large datasets and $1M+ for highly unique data. It wants 30+ employees and English-language records, US first. You keep your originals.
Before you sign, get the price, the exact scope, exclusivity and the payment schedule in writing. micro1 does not publish its exclusivity terms or a seller payment timeline.
micro1 at a glanceBuyer program
Checked October 15, 2026
- What it buys
- Operating procedures, knowledge bases, internal documents, CRM data, project histories, QA processes, team decision records, and feedback on AI outputs. Named domains: software and engineering, finance and accounting, customer support, sales and CRM, legal and contracts, operations and logistics. (source: micro1, data partnerships)
- Who qualifies
- 30+ employees, operationally mature, English. US first, then the UK and Canada. Its operating-company form describes 30 to 200 employees. A separate defunct-company form asks for 50+ employees at peak. (source: micro1, data partnerships, micro1 operating-company form, micro1 defunct-company form)
- Advertised pay to the business
- Advertised tiers of $100K+ for a qualified partnership, $500K+ for large or multi-team datasets, and $1M+ for highly unique data. The referral page says $100K to $2M+ for approved data packages. (source: micro1, data partnerships, micro1, company referral)
- Payment timing
- Not published for sellers. (source: micro1, data partnerships)
- Referral terms
- Up to $50,000 per company that signs, no cap on the number of referrals. The terms default to 7.5% of the license price where no amount is posted. Workflow deals pay after the company reaches a minimum revenue threshold; corpus deals pay after micro1 accepts the data. The amount was up to $25,000 at launch in June 2026. (source: micro1, company referral, micro1 referral terms (updated Oct 14, 2026), micro1 forum, referral program launch (Jun 16, 2026))
- Industries it names
- Software and engineering, Finance and accounting, Customer support, Sales and CRM, Legal and contracts, Operations and logistics
What micro1 is
micro1 is a San Francisco AI training-data company founded by Ali Ansari. Most of its business is recruiting and managing skilled experts who create training data for AI labs. It reached a $500 million gross annual run rate in August 2026 (source: Dealroom, Aug 2026), and Forbes reported in September 2026 that it raised more than $100 million at a $4 billion valuation (source: Forbes, Sep 22, 2026).
Its company data program is newer. micro1 started a company-data referral program in June 2026 (source: micro1 forum, referral program launch (Jun 16, 2026)) and now buys records directly from operating companies through what it calls data partnerships (source: micro1, data partnerships). In September 2026 it also bid $12.5 million for bankrupt Spirit Airlines' records, against Google's $10 million offer (source: Fortune, Sep 14, 2026), which shows how much the large buyers now value real company records.
The $1 billion enterprise data program
On October 9, 2026, micro1 announced it would spend $1 billion over the next 12 months acquiring and licensing operational data from enterprises, with financing from Citi and Hercules Capital (source: micro1, $1B announcement (Oct 9, 2026), The Next Web, Oct 9, 2026). It is the largest public commitment any buyer has made to company records so far.
For a business owner, the number matters less than what it signals: micro1 needs a large supply of real workflow records, and it is building an outbound team and a referral network to find them. If you run a 30+ person company, you may hear from micro1 directly or from someone referring you to it.
What micro1 buys
micro1 is looking for the records that show how work actually gets done inside a company (source: micro1, data partnerships):
- Standard operating procedures and knowledge bases
- Internal documents and project histories
- CRM data
- QA processes and team decision records
- Feedback your team has given on AI outputs
It names six domains: software and engineering, finance and accounting, customer support, sales and CRM, legal and contracts, and operations and logistics (source: micro1, data partnerships). Its operating-company form gives example sectors such as technology, BPOs and recruiting, financial services, consulting, legal and compliance, healthcare administration and logistics (source: micro1 operating-company form).
The common thread is repeatable, documented work. A company with years of written procedures, tickets linked to outcomes and a CRM that people actually used has more to offer than one whose know-how lives in people's heads.
Who qualifies
| Requirement | What micro1 says |
|---|---|
| Headcount | 30+ employees for operating companies; its form describes 30 to 200 (source: micro1, data partnerships, micro1 operating-company form) |
| Maturity | Operationally mature, with repeatable workflows (source: micro1 operating-company form) |
| Language | English (source: micro1, data partnerships) |
| Geography | US first, then the UK and Canada (source: micro1, data partnerships) |
| Years in business | No minimum published (source: micro1, data partnerships) |
| Closed companies | A separate track asks for 50+ employees at peak and substantial Slack or Teams history (source: micro1 defunct-company form) |
micro1's floor is higher than some programs. Handshake AI and Nyne start at 20 full-time employees, and Mode accepts accounting firms from 10 and law firms from 6. If you are under 30 people, the full buyer directory shows which programs set a lower bar.
What micro1 advertises paying
micro1 publishes three tiers for sellers (source: micro1, data partnerships):
| Tier | Advertised amount | What it describes |
|---|---|---|
| Qualified partnership | $100K+ | A standard data partnership that meets micro1's bar |
| Large | $500K+ | Large datasets or work spanning several teams |
| Unique | $1M+ | Highly unique data |
What moves a company up those tiers, across every buyer we track, is the same short list: more years of history, records that connect across systems (a ticket tied to the email thread and the invoice), clear rights to license what you share, and fewer exclusions. Our data value checker walks through those factors and shows which programs you are likely to qualify for.
How micro1 says your data is handled
According to micro1 and its announcement coverage:
- You keep ownership of your data and license a copy (source: The Next Web, Oct 9, 2026).
- micro1 removes personal information and may synthetically rewrite datasets (source: The Next Web, Oct 9, 2026, micro1 operating-company form).
- You can review samples before the data is used (source: micro1 operating-company form).
- Original datasets are deleted after processing (source: micro1 operating-company form).
- What is never included is set partnership by partnership rather than published as a fixed list (source: micro1, data partnerships).
De-identification lowers risk. It does not remove it.
Removing names and contact details does not always make a record anonymous. A distinctive deal, a small client base or a writing style can point back to a person or a company. Agree in writing on what is excluded entirely, not just what will be scrubbed, and on who carries the risk if something is re-identified.
What to get in writing before you sign
micro1 publishes its price tiers and referral terms, but not its exclusivity terms or a seller payment schedule (source: micro1, data partnerships). Those decide much of what a deal is worth, so ask for each one in the written offer:
- Price and payment schedule. The total, what triggers each payment, and the dates.
- Exact scope. Which systems, which date ranges, and which teams.
- Exclusions. What never leaves your systems (client files, personnel records, anything under an NDA), named in the contract.
- Exclusivity and term. Whether you can license the same records to another buyer, and for how long.
- Who the end buyer is and what they may do. Permitted uses, and whether micro1 can resell or sublicense.
- Deletion and audit. What happens to the copy at the end of the term and how you can confirm it.
- Warranties and indemnities. What you are promising about rights to the data, and the cap on your liability.
The strongest position is more than one written offer. Buyers price the same records differently, and the terms vary as much as the price. That is the work a sell-side advisor does.
If you run a law firm or an accounting firm
micro1 lists legal and contracts, and finance and accounting, among the domains it wants (source: micro1, data partnerships). Professional rules narrow that sharply. A law firm cannot license client files, matter content or privileged communications, because ABA Model Rule 1.6 protects all information relating to a representation. An accounting firm cannot license client books or anything derived from a tax return, because IRC 7216 makes unconsented disclosure of tax return information a crime.
What can qualify is firm-owned material with no client information in it: your own templates written from scratch, internal procedures, training curricula and operating workflows. See our guides for law firms and accounting firms before you talk to any buyer.
The micro1 company referral program
micro1 also pays people who introduce companies to it. Its company referral page advertises up to $50,000 per referred company that signs, with no cap on how many companies you refer (source: micro1, company referral). The details are in its referral terms, last updated October 14, 2026 (source: micro1 referral terms (updated Oct 14, 2026)):
- Where no amount is posted, the default payout is 7.5% of the license price.
- Workflow partnerships pay the referrer after the company completes onboarding and reaches a minimum revenue threshold. Corpus partnerships pay after micro1 accepts the data.
- You need consent from someone authorized at the company before you refer it.
- Referrers may not present themselves as micro1's agent or partner.
- Payout timing is at micro1's discretion, payouts can be clawed back if a deal is unwound, and unpaid payouts are forfeited if micro1 ends the referral relationship.
The amount has changed: it was up to $25,000 per company when the program launched in June 2026 (source: micro1 forum, referral program launch (Jun 16, 2026)). micro1 also runs a one-level sub-affiliate layer that pays 20% of a recruited referrer's payout (source: micro1, sub-affiliate program). For how this compares with Pewter, Mode, Handshake and others, see AI data referral programs compared.
What changed recently
- Referral terms updated. The company-referral page now advertises up to $50,000 per company, up from $25,000 at the June launch. (source: micro1 referral terms (updated Oct 14, 2026), micro1 forum, referral program launch (Jun 16, 2026))
- Announced a $1 billion, 12-month commitment to buying enterprise data, financed by Citi and Hercules Capital. (source: micro1, $1B announcement (Oct 9, 2026), The Next Web, Oct 9, 2026)
micro1 vs Mercor vs Handshake
| micro1 | Mercor | Handshake AI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advertised pay | $100K+, $500K+, $1M+ tiers | No range published | $100K to $4M+ |
| Minimum size | 30+ employees | Not published | 20+ full-time, 3+ years |
| Payment timing | Not published | 2 to 4 weeks after signing, on delivery | Not published |
| Referral to introducer | Up to $50K | Bonus, amount not published | $10K flat at close |
The full side-by-side, including what each one buys and how it handles data, is in micro1 vs Mercor vs Handshake.
How Regulr is paid, and how we write these pages
Regulr is a sell-side advisor. When a business we introduce signs a license, we may be paid a fee by the buyer or through a program's referral terms. We list every program we can verify whether or not it pays us, order is never set by fees, and every figure is the company's own advertised term with a link to where it says so. Regulr has not closed a data deal yet, so nothing here describes our results.
Frequently asked questions
Is micro1's data partnership program legitimate?
micro1 is an established AI training-data company. Forbes reported in September 2026 that it raised more than $100 million at a $4 billion valuation, and it announced its $1 billion enterprise data commitment publicly on October 9, 2026, with financing from Citi and Hercules Capital. Its seller tiers and referral terms are published on its own site. As with any buyer, treat advertised figures as a starting point and rely only on a written offer that states price, scope, exclusivity and payment schedule.
How much does micro1 pay for company data?
micro1 advertises $100K+ for a qualified partnership, $500K+ for large or multi-team datasets, and $1M+ for highly unique data. Its referral page describes $100K to $2M+ for approved data packages. These are micro1's advertised ranges, not guaranteed amounts. The actual price depends on what you can license, how much history you have, and how well the records connect across systems.
How many employees do you need to qualify for micro1?
micro1's data partnerships page asks for 30+ employees, operationally mature teams, and English-language records, with the US prioritized ahead of the UK and Canada. Its operating-company form describes companies of 30 to 200 employees. A separate form for companies that have shut down asks for 50+ employees at peak.
Does micro1 take ownership of my company's data?
No, according to micro1. The company keeps ownership of its data and licenses a copy. micro1 says it removes personal information, may synthetically rewrite datasets, lets the company review samples before use, and deletes the original datasets after processing. Confirm all of this in the written agreement, including what happens at the end of the license.
Can a law firm or accounting firm work with micro1?
micro1 names legal and contracts, and finance and accounting, among the domains it wants. For law firms and accounting firms, only firm-owned material that contains no client information can be in scope. Client files, privileged communications, client books and anything derived from a tax return stay out under professional rules such as ABA Model Rule 1.6 and IRC 7216.
How much is micro1's referral bonus for companies?
micro1's company referral page says up to $50,000 per referred company that signs, with no cap on the number of referrals. Its referral terms default to 7.5% of the license price where no amount is posted, require consent from someone authorized at the company, and pay workflow deals only after the company reaches a minimum revenue threshold. The amount was up to $25,000 when the program launched in June 2026.
How long does a micro1 data deal take?
micro1 does not publish a seller timeline or payment schedule. Expect a scoping call, a rights and contents review, de-identification, and buyer acceptance before payment. Ask for the payment schedule in writing before you share any data.
Sources
Program terms checked against each company's own pages on October 15, 2026.
- micro1, data partnerships
- micro1, company referral
- micro1 referral terms (updated Oct 14, 2026)
- micro1 forum, referral program launch (Jun 16, 2026)
- micro1, $1B announcement (Oct 9, 2026)
- micro1 operating-company form
- micro1 defunct-company form
- The Next Web, Oct 9, 2026
- Forbes, Sep 22, 2026
- Dealroom, Aug 2026
- Fortune, Sep 14, 2026
- micro1, sub-affiliate program
- Mercor, Monetize your data
- Handshake AI, data partnerships
- Handshake AI, refer a company
Brian Boesen · Founder, Regulr AI
Brian runs Regulr AI, which works for established businesses that want to license de-identified records to AI companies. He checks each program's published terms against its own pages and updates these guides when they change. Last updated October 15, 2026.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by state and by profession, and they apply to your facts, not to a category. Before you share anything, have your own counsel (and for law firms, your state bar's ethics hotline) confirm what is in scope.
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