Do you qualify? Every program's stated size and history minimum
The short answer
Stated floors differ. Handshake AI asks for 20+ full-time staff and 3+ years. The micro1 floor is 30+ employees. Replay's bands and Troveo's estimator start at 20 employees. Mercor and Polyshares state no minimum. SimpleClosure is built for companies winding down and says operating companies can apply too.
A stated floor is easier to check before the intake form than after it. Each program's floor is printed here with its source instead, read on each company's own page on 14 Oct 2026.
Every one is the company's own criteria. Meeting one gets you a review, and any offer comes after it.
What size and history does each AI data program ask for?
Handshake AI states a hard floor of 20+ full-time staff and 3+ years, and Replay's bands and Troveo's estimator start at 20 employees. Mercor and Polyshares state none. The highest floor is micro1 at 30+ employees, and SimpleClosure is built for closing companies.
| Program | Stated size | Stated history and other gates | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| micro1 | 30+ employees | Mature operations, primarily English, US first | Data partnerships |
| Handshake AI | 20+ full-time employees | 3+ years in operation | Referral page |
| Replay | Value bands start at 20 employees | Any industry, with records of how work was done | Homepage |
| Troveo | None stated, estimator starts at 20 | Estimator asks years of operating history | Business data |
| Mercor | None stated | Target industries listed, none required | Data page |
| Polyshares | None stated | "Any company with real operating history" | Homepage |
| SimpleClosure | None stated | Built for wind-downs, operating companies may explore licensing | AssetHub |
How do you apply to each AI data program?
| Program | How you start | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| micro1 | A short assessment | Evaluation, a discovery call, then the agreement |
| Handshake AI | An intake form about your company and tools | A follow-up, then a scoping call on data, terms and timeline |
| Replay | A valuation form | A valuation, then an offer |
| Troveo | A three-question estimate | A scoping call and guided exports |
| Mercor | A quote request, or linking your tools | Extraction and de-identification on its platform |
| Polyshares | Three questions, record counts only | A sample review, then an offer within one to two weeks |
| SimpleClosure | A short form or a GitHub connection | A viability assessment, often within days |
What if your company is below every stated minimum?
Then the programs with no stated floor are where to start: Mercor, Polyshares and Troveo. Polyshares says the length and texture of the record matter more than headcount.
For micro1, acceptance depends on its review and current demand, so confirm any exception directly with micro1. Its 30+ floor and where older figures came from are in micro1 data partnership minimum employees.
Does peak headcount count toward an AI data program's size minimum?
Replay counts peak headcount. Its valuation form asks for the most full-time employees the business has had at once, so a company that shrank can still report its peak.
Handshake AI's page says 20+ full-time employees. The micro1 pages say 30+ employees without defining the term. Ask each whether contractors and part-time staff count, and keep the answer in writing.
Can a closed company meet an AI data program's history minimum?
Some programs take closed companies. Replay's valuation form asks whether the business is still operating, which suggests it takes both. SimpleClosure's AssetHub was built for startups winding down. Mercor has approached shuttered startups, per a 17 Aug 2026 report.
Handshake AI asks for 3+ years in operation and does not say whether the company must still be running. The two shutdown routes are side by side in Mercor vs SimpleClosure.
What else do AI data programs check besides size?
Language and location come next. micro1 asks for primarily English documentation and puts US companies first. Replay's form asks what share of your work communications is in English, and whether you keep your own codebase.
Then the tools. Which tools each company names is in the connector matrix, and how they pay is in micro1 alternatives. The full field-by-field records are in the company directory.
micro1 may pay us a referral fee if a company we introduce goes ahead with it. How we are paid
Meeting a floor gets you a call. The contract still decides what you keep, so have a lawyer read it.
Apply to micro1's data partnership (paid link)micro1's own data-partnerships pagePaid link. How we are paid
Vaultfish helps you run the process. We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. If you need counsel who knows this area, we can point you to one. Ask for a referral
