Companies Are Selling Workers’ Private Messages and Emails as AI Training Data

Failed companies are discovering that their internal communications and operational data have become valuable commodities in the booming AI industry.

Forbes reports that when Shanna Johnson closed down cielo24, the transcription and captioning company she led as CEO, she found an unexpected source of revenue in what she calls the company’s “operational exhaust.” This digital residue, accumulated over 13 years of business operations, included conversations on messaging system Slack, Jira IT tickets, email correspondence, and multi-terabyte Google Drive archives documenting the daily work of her employees.

Johnson partnered with SimpleClosure, a startup specializing in company wind-downs, to handle the standard closure procedures including payroll termination, tax filings, investor consent collection, and IRS paperwork. But SimpleClosure also facilitated something novel: selling cielo24’s entire digital footprint as training material for AI systems. The sale generated hundreds of thousands of dollars for the defunct company.

This emerging practice represents more than