← Back to feed

AI labs are buying data from dead startups to train their models

L3 · BuilderIndustry & BusinessMIT Technology Review AI$· 10/13/2026

Reveals emerging data acquisition strategies that builders can leverage for their own AI training needs.

AI Summary

AI labs are purchasing data from failed startups through specialized brokers to train models, creating a new market for operational data worth millions.

Excerpt

When Keelan Miskell began winding down his crypto startup this year, he didn’t think its data was worth much: the users were anonymous, the company just a few years old. But he’s since turned the firm’s digital archives into real money. He’s netted roughly $25,000 for his code base and a still-pending amount (likely around…

Read Original
0 upvotes · 0 downvotes · 1 min read

Related Articles

L2 · PractitionerIndustry & BusinessThe Verge AI
Character.AI files for bankruptcy

Character.AI files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and plans to sell assets to Disney after years of legal challenges and safety concerns.

L3 · BuilderIndustry & BusinessNVIDIA AI Blog
From Earth to Orbit, France’s Ecosystem Delivers Agentic Computing at Scale With NVIDIA

French companies are deploying NVIDIA-powered agentic computing across space, finance, and research sectors using sovereign AI infrastructure.

L3 · BuilderIndustry & BusinessTechCrunch AI
WindBorne wins a hefty US Air Force contract for its balloon data

WindBorne Systems won a $49 million Air Force contract to supply atmospheric data from its AI-powered weather balloons for military forecasting needs.

L3 · BuilderIndustry & BusinessLessWrong AI
OpenAI Fires Three Safety Researchers

OpenAI fired three safety researchers who claim it was retaliation for safety advocacy, not the 'mishandling sensitive information' reason given by the company.

L1 · CuriousIndustry & Business@emollick.bsky.social
Ethan Mollick (@emollick.bsky.social): If you haven’t made sure to turn on two-factor authentication on all accounts, have passwords with family in case you get voice calls asking for money, etc, now would be a good time. AI gains mean th

Ethan Mollick warns that AI advancements are making sophisticated phishing and social engineering attacks easier and cheaper to deploy at scale.