SimpleClosure AssetHub alternatives for selling company data

What SimpleClosure AssetHub is

SimpleClosure helps startups shut down. In April 2026 it launched Asset Hub, a marketplace where founders sell what they built, from source code and operational data to domain names and equipment (Business Wire). Source code was live at launch. Workspace data, meaning email, Slack, Notion, Google Drive and internal process documents, started in beta. Announcing the launch, SimpleClosure’s founder and CEO said:

It grew quickly. More than 350 companies listed in the months after launch, and the number of prospective buyers grew ninefold. Before that, a test version had returned about $1 million to founders across nearly 100 deals (Upstarts Media).

SimpleClosure has since said that AssetHub:

• is on track to return more than $10 million to venture-backed startups by the end of 2026;
• has moved workspace data from beta to general availability;
• is open to companies at any stage, including those operating, pivoting or discontinuing a product line;
• sells to a vetted network that includes AI foundation labs and companies building reinforcement learning environments (SimpleClosure).

For source code, SimpleClosure connects founders with buyers, manages diligence and facilitates the transaction (SimpleClosure). If you are closing, that matters: one team handles the wind-down and the asset sale together.

Why founders compare it with other options

Not because AssetHub is a bad choice. It is one channel, and a sale through one channel is a single quote. Operating companies may want recurring income rather than a one-time sale. Companies with clean, structured data may do better selling it as a product. And anyone weighing an offer should know what the other routes look like. We couldn’t find a published seller fee for AssetHub, so ask for it in writing, as you should with every option below.

The alternatives at a glance

Listed by type, not ranked.

The table shows what each option is built for. Where a figure or promise comes from a company’s own page, the sections below say so and link to it, so you can check it yourself before a call.

1. Sell directly to a data vendor: Mercor, micro1

Best for: companies a vendor has already approached, or ones with an unusual archive a vendor wants badly.

How it works: vendors that supply AI labs now buy company data themselves. Mercor, which pays contractors to train models for OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, offered to buy or license Warmly’s code base and task records eight days after Warmly agreed to be acquired by HubSpot (AI Weekly). micro1 runs a data partnerships program that turns anonymized workflows into training datasets. It pitches the deal as recurring revenue, typically worth $100K to $2M+ (micro1). micro1 also bid $12.5 million for Spirit Airlines’ internal records, topping Google’s $10 million (Let’s Data Science).

Watch out for: one buyer sets the price, and you negotiate alone. Ask who the data will be resold to. Forbes reported that several large vendors, Mercor among them, sell training data to Chinese labs (AI Weekly). If that matters to you, put the limits in the contract.

2. Enterprise data programs: Appen, Centific, Nyne

Best for: established operating companies with years of records in mainstream business tools.

How it works: these companies run programs that license your operational data on to AI labs.

• Appen says enterprises license their workflows and operational know-how to AI labs, keep ownership, set the scope and approve a sample before anything is used (Appen).
• Centific says it partners with companies to anonymize and license operational data for AI training by frontier labs, and pays them for it (Centific).
• Nyne pays businesses to license anonymized historical data from accounting, CRM, scheduling and project management tools, and says typical partnerships are worth $100K or more (Nyne).

Watch out for: the program operator is your counterparty, not a neutral marketplace, so its offer is still one offer. Payout figures on these pages are the companies’ own claims. Each program decides what data it wants this quarter, so expect screening before you see a number.

3. Dataset marketplaces: Opendatabay, AWS Data Exchange, Snowflake Marketplace, Datarade

Best for: structured, repeatable datasets you can document, refresh and support.

How it works: you package the data as a product, list it and sell it to many buyers.

• Opendatabay is a licensed data marketplace for AI teams. It runs seller verification and due diligence to check that sellers have the right to sell (Opendatabay). Its seller guidance asks you to show where the data came from, how it was collected and who consented (AI Journal).
• AWS Data Exchange requires providers to have a customer support process, a way to keep data updated, and to be based in an eligible jurisdiction. You request onboarding through an AWS support case (AWS).
• Snowflake Marketplace paid listings need an approved provider profile, a talk with Snowflake before you create the listing, a billing address in an eligible country, and a Stripe Express account for payouts (Snowflake).
• Datarade takes provider applications that it says take about three minutes and are reviewed in one to two business days. You list products and upload a sample preview (Datarade).

Watch out for: you are the seller. Packaging, documentation, pricing, updates and buyer support are on you. These platforms suit tables and feeds. Raw Slack exports, tickets or code history need identities removed and records linked before a buyer can use them.

4. A licensing partner: Smelted

Best for: operating companies with years of support tickets, docs, code, CRM notes, chat or ops logs.

How it works: Smelted (that’s us) cleans and packages a copy of the data you already have and licenses it to AI labs. You pick the systems, folders and date ranges, and can rule out buyers such as competitors. Names, contact details and other identifiers come out first, and buyers judge quality from redacted previews. You approve the buyer and the terms, and once the license is signed you’re paid in as little as 7 days. Licenses typically run from $20K to $5M. Nothing is paid upfront; Smelted is paid from the license.

Watch out for: the partner earns from your deal, so read the fee and exclusivity terms. It’s a license, not a sale: models trained on the data stay trained after the license ends. And it doesn’t sell domains or equipment, which AssetHub does.

How to choose

1. Closing down? AssetHub is built for that moment and handles code, workspace data and other assets in one place. Start early either way: accounts get deleted and deadlines weaken your position.
2. Still operating and want income that repeats? Look at vendor programs like micro1’s, enterprise programs like Appen’s or Nyne’s, or a licensing partner.
3. Data already structured and refreshed? A dataset marketplace lets you sell the same product to many buyers.
4. Holding an unsolicited offer? Treat it as a starting point. Vendors watch for companies that are being acquired or closing, so offers can arrive with little warning. Get a second quote before you sign.
5. Need tight control over who trains on it? Pick the option that gives you buyer approval in writing.

Whichever you choose, ask every option the same questions:

• What is your fee, and how is it calculated?
• Is this a sale or a license? Exclusive or not?
• Who are the end buyers, and can I block some?
• When do I get paid: at signing, delivery or acceptance?
• Who removes identities, and to what standard?
• When is the raw copy deleted, and do I get proof?

Before any of this, confirm you have the right to sell what’s in scope. Our guide to selling company data to AI covers the rights to check. This isn’t legal advice; have a lawyer review the contract. To see a range for your own data, try the 60-second estimate.

Questions founders ask