Scale AI alternatives for licensing company data
The short answer
Scale AI sells labeled data and model evaluation to AI labs, and it now runs a data partnership for company records. micro1, Handshake AI and Mercor run similar programs, and Troveo licenses records as a marketplace. SimpleClosure serves startups that are closing. For labeling tools, look at Labelbox.
Most "Scale AI alternatives" lists come from vendors who rank themselves first. That is a funny way to run a comparison. The top results for this query come from CleverX, Ultralytics and similar sellers, so check what each author sells before you trust the ranking.
What is Scale AI?
Scale AI sells human-labeled data, RLHF and model evaluation to AI labs and big companies. Its Outlier and Remotasks brands recruit the contractors who do the work.
TechCrunch confirmed Meta's 49% non-voting investment of $14.3 billion on 13 Jun 2025.
In plain words
Scale AI's main business pays people to label examples for AI labs. Its data partnership, which licenses your records, is a separate job.
Think of it like this
One is staffing the library desk. The other is lending the library the boxes from your attic.
What are the alternatives for a company that holds data?
Scale's own data partnership takes de-identified workflow records. It prefers 40+ employees and states an illustrative $10K to $1M+ per partnership. Our Scale AI profile has the rest.
micro1, Handshake AI, Mercor, Troveo, Replay and Polyshares run programs for company records too. SimpleClosure also handles data for companies that are shutting down.
| Buyer or program | Minimum size | Stated range | Pay model | Payment timing | What you keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| micro1 | 30+ employees, US first | Tiers of $100K+, $500K+, $1M+ | Paid under the agreed partnership | Not published | Companies keep ownership |
| Handshake AI | 20+ full-time staff, 3+ years | $100K to $4M+ | License fee | 30 to 60 days after dataset acceptance | Not published |
| Mercor | None stated | Up to $300K, press report | One wire, no fees to you | 2 to 4 weeks after signing | Not published |
| Troveo | None stated, estimator from 20 | Six figures, per its page | Revenue share on each sale | On each sale | You own it, ownership stays |
| Replay | Bands start at 20 employees | $10K to $1M+ by headcount | Upfront plus revenue share | Upfront, then on each license | License only, nothing transferred |
| Polyshares | None stated | $100K to $2M+ | License fee, no commission | Net 30 to 60 after approval | You keep data, exclusive by default |
| SimpleClosure Asset Hub | None stated, closing or operating | $10K to $100K per company, press | A percentage on a sale or license | Not published | Perpetual license to SimpleClosure |
Every figure is the company's own claim unless marked press. Terms change, so confirm on each company's page.
Before you talk to any of them, read the public record. Our is Mercor legit and is Handshake AI legit pages collect it for two of them. The guide to licensing company data explains the steps.
Who are Scale AI's competitors?
For labeled data and expert work, Sacra compares Scale AI with Handshake, Mercor, Surge, Turing, micro1 and Invisible. Of those, Handshake AI, Mercor, Turing and micro1 also run programs for company records, as Scale now does. The lanes are sorted in AI data companies.
What are the alternatives for labeling software?
Labelbox, SuperAnnotate and Ultralytics sell tools your own team runs, per third-party comparison lists. That lane suits an AI team that labels its own data, and the tools pay nobody for records.
Labelbox and SuperAnnotate also run separate licensing programs, Labelbox Prism and SuperAnnotate.
micro1 may pay us a referral fee if a company we introduce goes ahead with it. How we are paid
Have a lawyer read any contract before you sign. They like that.
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
