What happened
As part of Spirit Airlines’ bankruptcy, its internal records were auctioned. Google’s $10M bid beat Mercor’s $7.5M backup bid, according to a court filing reported by Skift. The package included finance and operations data, revenue-management data, around 100 million emails, payroll records and code.
Why it matters
Most famous AI data deals involve publishers and platforms. This one priced the internal records of an operating business. The bidders’ interest was in how work gets done: decades of decisions, processes and communications that don’t exist on the public web.
Three lessons for other businesses
- Ordinary operating records have a market price. Not just content companies.
- Exclusions are normal. Customer data was carved out; the rest was to be de-identified.
- You don’t need to wait for bankruptcy. A going concern can license a copy and keep its originals, on terms it controls.
What to do next
Find out whether your records fit what buyers want: read what data AI companies buy, or take the free 2-minute check.
Frequently asked questions
How much did Google pay for Spirit Airlines’ data?
Google’s winning bid was $10M, according to a court filing reported by Skift in August 2026. Final court approval had not been confirmed at the time of writing.
Was customer data included?
No. Customer and loyalty data were excluded, and the remaining records were to be scrubbed of personal information.
Who else bid?
Mercor was the backup bidder at $7.5M, according to Skift.