Most owners who license their data get exactly one offer, from the first lab that emailed them. Going direct is free and sometimes right. Here is what it costs you in price discovery, terms, and negotiating position, and when it is still the better call.
Already have an offer? We will benchmark it against current buyer demand within 24 hours, with no obligation.
| Dimension | Going direct | Data Truffle | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price discovery | You learn what one buyer will pay, which is usually its opening number. There is nothing to compare it with. | The manifest is benchmarked against live demand from several vetted buyers before anyone sees your name. You know the range before the first conversation. | Truffle |
| Number of offers | One. If the lab passes, you start over with the next one. | Qualified sets go to more than one buyer at once. Competing terms are the only reliable way to find out what records are worth. | Truffle |
| Time to first number | Depends on the lab's queue. Published programs quote anywhere from a day to two weeks for an initial review, and a single lab can be fast. | An indicative, buyer-benchmarked range within 24 to 48 hours of a complete manifest. Binding terms follow sample review. Fast labs can match the speed for their own number; none match it with a competitive one. | Even |
| Who pays the intermediary | There is no intermediary, so nobody. There is also nobody whose job is to get you the best terms. | You do, as a success fee from proceeds, only when a license closes. That is why we work for you and take no buyer-side fees. | Even |
| Whose side | The lab's counsel and data team represent the lab. You represent yourself, usually for the first time. | We represent you and only you. Every buyer is named before you decide, and we take nothing from them. | Truffle |
| Custody | Direct from you to the lab after signing, if you insist on it. Some lab templates ask for access earlier. | Direct from you to the buyer after signing, always. We never receive, hold, or process datasets, so there is no second copy to worry about. | Even |
| De-identification enforcement | Whatever the lab's standard contract says. You negotiate the standard, the verifier, and the remedy alone, or you do not. | Every buyer we introduce has already agreed to a documented de-identification standard, verification, and deletion schedule before the introduction is made. | Truffle |
| Exclusivity and field of use | Lab templates often default to broad, perpetual, exclusivity-leaning terms. You have to know what to push on and have a competing offer to push with. | Non-exclusive by default. Exclusivity and field of use are priced separately and negotiated against competing offers, which is the only leverage that works. | Truffle |
| Exit cost | None before signing. After signing, whatever the license says. | None before signing. The engagement letter is non-exclusive and cancellable; walk away at any point with nothing owed. | Even |
| Fee | No fee. You keep the whole offer, whatever the offer is. | A success fee from proceeds, on the schedule published on the pricing page. On a competitive process it is usually smaller than the difference between the first offer and the best one, but that is not guaranteed. | Going direct |
Descriptions of the alternative reflect published terms and typical practice across the market as of November 2026; individual buyers, marketplaces, and intermediaries vary. Measured from a complete data manifest. A first offer is a process target, not a guarantee; buyers decide eligibility, price, and terms.
Going direct is the better choice when you already know which buyer you want, you have counsel who has negotiated an AI data license before, and you have a strategic reason to prefer one lab, such as an existing relationship or a product integration. It is also the right call for small sets that would not attract competing bids. If you do go direct, get a second number first. We will benchmark an offer you already have within 24 hours, with no obligation.
What happens when you list a company's records on a self-serve data marketplace: who sets the price, who holds the data, who enforces de-identification, and what it costs to leave.
Many services that offer to connect you with AI labs are paid by the buyer when you sign. What that means for price discovery, whose side they are on, and the terms you end up with.
Answer, but do not share data or sign anything yet. Ask for their offer in writing, then get a second number. A benchmark takes a day and costs nothing, and the first number from a lab that found you is rarely its best.
The first number is faster, because the pricing work is done before the manifest arrives. The negotiation phase takes about as long as going direct would, because the time is spent on buyer diligence and your own counsel's review either way.
No. We take no buyer-side fees, origination fees, or referral payments. Our only fee is the seller-side success fee on the pricing page, paid from proceeds when a license closes.
Seven questions. No dataset. First offer in 24 to 48 hours of a complete manifest.
Measured from a complete data manifest. A first offer is a process target, not a guarantee; buyers decide eligibility, price, and terms.