How to license Slack data to AI: who buys and how
The short answer
An owner exports the Slack workspace or lets a buyer connect to it. SimpleClosure reported processing nearly 100 startup shutdowns at $10,000 to $100,000 per company. Slack's API terms bar outside apps from using API data to train an LLM. Free and Pro export public channels only.
Slack is the tool press coverage names most often. micro1's CFO says labs want it because a thread shows who asked for what and how the work got approved.
Who has bought Slack data?
Gizmodo reported that SimpleClosure had processed nearly 100 deals at $10,000 to $100,000 per company.
BigGo reported that Mercor approached failed or acquired startups for datasets that include Slack chat logs, with offers as high as $300,000. Both are company claims reported by the press. I found no price list for Slack data alone.
What do AI labs want from Slack threads?
micro1's David Revland, who works on human data, said in an undated recorded forum talk that labs want the chain from request to deliverable, such as a Slack message asking for a finance report plus the finished report in Google Sheets (self-reported, recording undated).
How does the data leave Slack?
Slack's help page sets the limits by plan. Free and Pro owners and admins export public channels. Business+ owners can export all channels, including private channels and direct messages. Enterprise org owners can export all channels and direct messages.
Slack's export tools guide puts the owner in charge of two things: appropriate employment agreements and corporate policies, and making sure all use of data exports is permitted under applicable law.
Files come out as links, not as the files themselves, on Free, Pro and Business+.
What happens to the Slack messages after a deal?
For Slack messages, micro1's David Revland said in an undated recorded forum talk that its team swaps each name for a consistent stand-in across every tool.
micro1 staff said companies cannot scrub first. SimpleClosure said it removes personally identifiable information (Gizmodo).
Whether removal holds up is a separate question. See can AI re-identify anonymized emails and Slack messages.
What limits a Slack deal?
Four pages cover the limits, one each:
- Whether it is legal to license company Slack data
- What Slack's API terms say about exported data
- Shared channels with other companies
- Staff messages when the company is shutting down
Your NDAs come before all four. Our rights check asks whose records these are and whether staff messages are included, and the free fit check asks where the work happens.
Talk to a privacy or commercial lawyer in your state before you sign.
micro1 may pay us a referral fee if a company we introduce goes ahead with it. How we are paid
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
