How SimpleClosure uses your company data

SimpleClosure keeps this license for good.

SimpleClosure's Asset Hub sells code and workspace data from shutting-down startups to AI buyers. Its terms take a perpetual, irrevocable license to what you submit and make you hold consents from the people in it. Gizmodo reported, citing Forbes, nearly 100 deals at $10,000 to $100,000 per company.

SimpleClosure says it handles collection, strips personal details and sends the data to the buyer. Its terms are published in full, so it is the easiest buyer here to check.

It was built for a company that is closing. Its AssetHub page now says operating companies can license too. The buyers directory lists other options. For the product itself, see SimpleClosure Asset Hub.

Our only referral relationship is with micro1, an AI data company. It may pay us a fee if a company we introduce goes ahead with it. You pay nothing extra. How we are paid

In plain words

Data licensing means a company gets to use your records under rules. You still own them.

Think of it like this

Think of renting a room. Most renters get a lease with an end date. This lease has none, and you can't cancel it.

What data does SimpleClosure ask for?

SimpleClosure's terms call what you submit "digital assets." That covers software codebases, source code repositories and technical documentation. It also covers workplace data exports, such as emails, messaging exports and project management records.

The launch release sorts these into three groups:

Code is live.
Workspace data, such as email, Slack, Notion and Google Drive, is in beta.
Domains, patents, trademarks and equipment are in development.

How does SimpleClosure collect it?

Through its services. The release says SimpleClosure manages the deal end to end, including data collection. The terms say you submit assets through the services. For code, intake starts with a connection to GitHub.

SimpleClosure shares no more detail on how it pulls workspace data. Ask whether you run an export or it runs a connection.

What does SimpleClosure say it does to the data?

The launch release says SimpleClosure removes personal information before transfer. It means names, emails and other details that point to a person.

The terms matter more here. You promise that you have all required consents from the people in the assets. That includes employees, contractors, customers, investors and vendors. The terms name the CCPA, CPRA and GDPR. You must also disclose open-source parts in the assets.

So the process says SimpleClosure scrubs. The contract says you promised the data was fine to share. Both can be true. If the second turns out false, you answer for it.

The terms promise no scrubbing. They say only that its evaluation may include an assessment of embedded personal information.

Who receives it?

The terms list three groups: SimpleClosure, its affiliates and subsidiaries, and third-party buyers it introduces. The release names the buyer types as AI labs, reinforcement learning researchers and enterprise AI companies. It names no buyers.

Gizmodo reported, citing Forbes, nearly 100 deals at $10,000 to $100,000 per company.

Does SimpleClosure license your data or take it outright?

You license it. The license is the broadest on our list. It is non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, fully paid up, perpetual, irrevocable and worldwide.

It lets SimpleClosure use, copy, change, share, license or sell the assets for any lawful purpose. That includes licensing or selling them to third parties. You are owed no further consent or pay, except what a separate asset assignment or purchase agreement says.

The terms state no revenue share and no fee. Payment sits in a separate agreement. The price of the license is whatever that agreement says.

Its AssetHub page adds that there is no upfront cost and SimpleClosure takes a percentage only on a completed deal. The percentage is not published.

What about retention and deletion?

The terms set no automatic deletion. After the contract ends, the terms say SimpleClosure provides your data on request for 30 days.

That returns your copy. It says nothing about deleting what a buyer holds, and the license can't be revoked. See deleting after training.

What security does SimpleClosure claim?

The terms don't cover it. We found no certification or encryption statement in the material we read. A closing company's email archive is sensitive. Raise this gap first.

Where does the risk sit?

The terms make you defend and protect SimpleClosure from lawsuits over four things:

Breaches of your promises
IP claims
Privacy violations
Open-source non-compliance

SimpleClosure caps its own liability at the greater of what you paid in the prior six months or $100. That is a lopsided pair. You can owe a lot. It likely owes $100 at most. Reps and warranties explains what such promises cost.

How does SimpleClosure pay?

It doesn't publish the fee or the split. The only figure is the reported range of $10,000 to $100,000 per company. That figure is second-hand and promises you nothing. See how much SimpleClosure costs.

What should you ask SimpleClosure?

What is the fee, and is it taken before or after I'm paid?
Can I leave out messages from people who haven't agreed to share them?
Who removes the personal details, and with what method?
Can the irrevocable license cover training uses only?
What happens to my data if the buyer resells it?
Which promises can I limit?

Start with the rights check. Then read is SimpleClosure legit. Talk to a privacy or commercial lawyer in your state before you sign.

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