micro1 data partnerships: what UK companies should know

About micro1

micro1 is a San Francisco AI data company led by its founder and chief executive, Ali Ansari. It supplies human experts, such as engineers, doctors and lawyers, who create training and evaluation data for frontier AI labs, and it builds practice environments for AI agents from company data. In September 2026, Forbes reported, in an article republished by Forbes Australia, that it had raised more than $100m at a $4bn valuation, citing two people familiar with the deal.

On 9 October 2026, micro1 committed $1bn over the next 12 months to buying and licensing operational data from companies, with Citi and Hercules Capital providing the capital. Its programme page calls it Enterprise Data Partnerships, and its announcement calls it Company Data Partnerships.

What micro1 takes

micro1 wants data that "reflects how work is actually performed within an organization". Its programme page lists:

• SOPs, knowledge bases and internal documentation
• CRM data and project histories
• QA processes
• records of how teams evaluate information and make operational decisions
• human feedback on AI outputs in real business settings

Who it accepts

micro1 looks for "operationally mature companies with 30+ employees" and established documentation. At this time, micro1 is "primarily looking for companies that operate in English" and keep their documentation, workflows and knowledge bases in English. Company representatives must be able to communicate with micro1 in English.

On geography, micro1 says that "current demand is strongest for companies based in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada". Its FAQ adds: "We currently prioritize US companies, followed by other Western markets."

Prices and payment

micro1 says pay is based on "quality, uniqueness, and value". It does not publish a payment schedule. The process runs from an assessment and evaluation to a discovery call on data and privacy requirements, then the agreement, and its FAQ mentions an initial AI interview.

How it handles your data

• Personal data is removed "when relevant", and some datasets "may undergo synthetic rewrites that preserve workflow structure".
• Companies are given the opportunity to review representative samples before their data is used.
• Companies keep ownership of their underlying data. Data is kept only for agreed periods, and deletion requests are honoured under the terms of each engagement.

The page does not say who carries out the de-identification, or which security certifications micro1 holds.

What a UK company should check

1. Priority. Whether a UK company in your sector will be considered on the same timetable as US applicants.
2. Payment. When you are paid, and what triggers each payment. This is not published.
3. De-identification. Who does it, to what written standard, and what you see in the sample before you sign.
4. Exclusivity and retention. Whether the licence is exclusive, and how long micro1 keeps the data.
5. Transfers. How personal data leaves the UK: the UK-US data bridge or the ICO's international data transfer agreement.
6. Governing law. Which country's law the agreement uses.

How micro1 compares

micro1's lowest tier, $100,000, is the same as the lowest figure published by Handshake AI, Mode and SuperAnnotate, and above Scale AI, Replay and Ooak Data, whose published figures start at $10,000 to $20,000. With a 30-employee minimum, it is aimed at established companies. It does not say whether it takes closing or closed companies. Compare it with the others in our buyer directory, or see which buyers fit your company with the buyer finder.