Market
Liquidators and auction houses that now handle code and data
Trustees and lenders picking an asset seller should ask at the outset whether that firm can handle the email, chat and code archive.
One large firm now lists it as a service. Most have not caught up yet.
In this guide
01
Hilco: data, codebases and AI training assets
Hilco Global runs an advisory service for enterprise data, code and AI training material. Its stated clients include companies, lenders, sponsors and fiduciaries, in deals ranging from M&A and restructurings to bankruptcies, Article 9 foreclosures and carve-outs.
02
The rest of the field
Hilco Global
What it lists
Enterprise data, codebases and AI training assets
Data for AI buyers?
Yes, as a named line
Tiger Group
What it lists
Valuing customer lists, routes and revenue-generating databases
Data for AI buyers?
Valuation of commercial data, no AI licensing service listed
Sherwood Partners
What it lists
Restructuring, debtor and creditor work, managed liquidations, receiverships
Data for AI buyers?
None listed
Gordon Brothers, Great American
What it lists
Asset disposition
Data for AI buyers?
None found on the pages we could reach
| Firm | What it lists | Data for AI buyers? |
|---|---|---|
| Hilco Global | Enterprise data, codebases and AI training assets | Yes, as a named line |
| Tiger Group | Valuing customer lists, routes and revenue-generating databases | Valuation of commercial data, no AI licensing service listed |
| Sherwood Partners | Restructuring, debtor and creditor work, managed liquidations, receiverships | None listed |
| Gordon Brothers, Great American | Asset disposition | None found on the pages we could reach |
This may change quickly. Ask each firm directly.
03
Alternatives to a liquidator
For startups and smaller companies, wind-down services run the process: SimpleClosure's AssetHub reports 150+ data deals and Sunset values archives by headcount, years and tool use. Direct buyers such as micro1, Mercor and Pewter also take closed companies. See AI data buyers for distressed companies.
04
What to ask before you hire one
- Have you closed a sale of an email, chat or code archive to an AI buyer? Which buyers?
- How do you handle de-identification and privacy review?
- Will you run the data as a separate lot or bundle it with IP?
- What is your fee on the data lot, and who pays it?
- How will you keep the workspaces alive until the sale closes?
FAQ
Questions, answered
Does Hilco sell company data to AI companies?
Among Hilco's advisory services is one for enterprise data, code and AI training material. No reported deal has been credited to it that we know of.
Do liquidators value customer databases?
Yes. Tiger, for example, values customer lists and revenue-generating databases. That is different from licensing a work archive to AI buyers.
What if no liquidator handles data?
Wind-down services and direct AI data buyers take closed companies. Your trustee or counsel can approach them alongside the liquidator.
Find the buyers that fit your company
Answer a few questions about your size, tools and history. We show which buyers want a company like yours. Free, no files.
Keep reading
Sources
Every number on this page links back to one of these.
- 1Hilco Global: intellectual property serviceshilcoglobal.com
- 2Tiger Group: intellectual propertytigergroup.com
- 3Sherwood Partners: servicessherwoodea.com
- 4SimpleClosure: AssetHubsimpleclosure.com
- 5MIT Technology Review: AI labs are buying data from dead startups (13 Oct 2026)technologyreview.com
- 6Pewter Datapewterdata.com
Spot something wrong? See our corrections policy. Some buyers pay us a referral fee. How we make money.