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Bankrupt startups are increasingly monetizing internal communications—such as Slack messages and internal emails—to help fund their wind-downs and train artificial intelligence, according to Forbes.
SimpleClosure, a firm that handles dissolution procedures including taxes and payroll, launched a product called Asset Hub designed to help startups monetize assets during liquidation. The platform enables licensing the sale of items such as source code, documents, workflows, and—most notably—internal contact data like Slack messages or emails.
SimpleClosure says Asset Hub helps determine what data can be sold, price it, and process it to remove personally identifiable information.
SimpleClosure’s CEO, Dori Yona, described the surge in collecting data from failed startups as “a gold rush.” The company says that over the past year it has handled nearly 100 such deals, with each startup receiving between $10,000 and $100,000.
The shift is tied to changes in AI development. While large language models (LLMs) were previously trained largely on public internet data—such as books, news, and social media—newer AI agents require more complex, real-world information about how people work.
Training is often conducted in “reinforcement training gyms,” which are simulated environments built using real company data. In these settings, AI agents practice office tasks—for example, planning a coworker’s birthday—making the underlying internal communications more valuable.
The Information reported that last year executives at Anthropic discussed spending up to $1 billion to invest in such AI gym platforms.
Despite claims that personal data will be removed, the practice has triggered privacy warnings and opposition from privacy advocates.
Marc Rotenberg, founder of the Center for Digital Policy and AI (CAIDP), said privacy concerns are “highly warranted,” arguing that employee communications are closely tied to real people. He emphasized that “Employee privacy remains a top concern, especially as people have become overly dependent on internal messaging tools like Slack... This is not generic data; it is tied to real people.”
Premium gym chains are entering a “golden era” that is ending or already in decline, as rising operating costs collide with shifting consumer preferences toward more flexible, community-based ways to exercise. Long-term memberships are shrinking, margins are pressured by higher rents and facility expenses, and competition from smaller, more personalized…
