Companies / Data vendor
Handshake AI
Handshake describes itself as "the career network for the AI economy"; its Handshake AI division connects highly educated experts with leading AI labs to provide expert human model validation for frontier AI development. Recorded here: 4 clauses of its contract in its own words, what it sells, in its own words, 2 funding events, 5 revenue figures, 31 public prices and 1 market record.
San Francisco, California, USFounded 2014joinhandshake.comLatest record 17 Oct 2026
How Handshake AI buys data
Handshake AI, data licensing page, 15 Oct 2026- What it wants
- Operational data from the tools a business runs on (Gmail, Slack, Drive, NetSuite, QuickBooks, Figma and more), transferred as it exists today.
- What it publishes about price
- "Payouts range from $100K to $4M." Its estimator shows $383,083 to $896,969 for 100 employees and 10 years.
- Who it takes
- "Companies with 20+ full time employees & 3+ years in operation", in any industry.
- How the holder is paid
- "Payment terms are negotiated as part of your agreement and tied to defined delivery milestones." It says an initial review and pricing come within 12 to 24 hours of the details it needs, and the whole process typically takes 7 to 14 business days (FAQ on its data-partnerships page, 17 Oct 2026).
- Who removes personal data
- Handshake removes direct and indirect business and personal identifiers before it uses the data, and says no de-identification removes the risk of re-identification entirely. Its page no longer says who carries the legal risk of the transfer (17 Oct 2026), so the contract has to.
- What it pays for an introduction
- "You can earn $10K for each successful referral that becomes a Handshake AI data partner and completes its data transfer" (FAQ on its data-partnerships page, read 17 Oct 2026).
We are not Handshake AI's agent, partner or representative. If you hold data it might buy, we can put it in front of Handshake AI and every other buyer that fits at the same time.
What Handshake AI sells
In its own words, read on its own site 16 Oct 2026. On the vendor register
- What it sells
RL environments: “MIT-founded AI team and tech deepen Handshake investment in frontier AI research in RL environments, evals, and human data.” joinhandshake.com
Evaluations and benchmarks: “ATLAS tests whether AI can actually do the job.” joinhandshake.com
Expert and human data: “The experts train large language models using their academic expertise” joinhandshake.com
Annotation: “producing data on our own annotation platform” joinhandshake.com
- Where its data comes from
Made by experts and contractors: “Our experts are sourced directly from universities” joinhandshake.com
Licensed from its owners: “Handshake AI buys that data and works with top AI labs to understand how real companies do work–all with data that is scoped, de-identified, and confidential.” joinhandshake.com
- Buys data from owners
In its words: “Handshake AI buys that data and works with top AI labs to understand how real companies do work–all with data that is scoped, de-identified, and confidential.” joinhandshake.com
- Areas its pages name
- Coding, Business work, Finance, Legal, Science, Images and video
What Handshake AI's contract says
The clauses Handshake AI publishes for the people it buys data from, in its own words, the costliest first. “Our reading” is ours, not Handshake AI's. These terms change: read the page itself before you sign.
Licence and use
Use is restricted by contract to AI model training and evaluation; you keep ownership, and the scope, approved uses, protections and compensation are agreed before any transfer.
“Handshake is contractually restricted to using the data for AI model training and evaluation only. ... Your company retains ownership of its data, and the scope, approved uses, protections, and compensation are agreed upon before any data is transferred.”
Our reading: No standard licence is published, so the contract is the only place the term, exclusivity and resale are set.
joinhandshake.com, read 17 Oct 2026When you are paid
Payment terms are negotiated in each agreement and tied to delivery milestones; it quotes a price within 12 to 24 hours of the details it needs, and closes in 7 to 14 business days.
“Payment terms are negotiated as part of your agreement and tied to defined delivery milestones. ... we can provide an initial review and pricing within 12–24 hours. From there, the full process typically takes 7–14 business days to finalize your transaction.”
Our reading: Milestone payments mean money arrives in parts as data is delivered, so what triggers each part, and what happens to it if a delivery is disputed, is set in the contract.
joinhandshake.com, read 17 Oct 2026Who removes personal data
Handshake removes direct and indirect business and personal identifiers itself, before it uses the data for training and evaluation.
“Handshake AI utilizes structured processes designed to remove direct and indirect business and personal identifiers from datasets prior to using them for training and evaluation of AI models.”
Our reading: The page no longer says you hand over the data as it exists today (it did until October 2026), nor whether personal details are still in the data when it reaches Handshake: removal happens before use, and you can mark sensitive information as out of scope.
joinhandshake.com, read 17 Oct 2026Other
Handshake says its de-identification is designed to minimise the risk of re-identification, and that no de-identification process removes that risk entirely.
“Note that these processes are designed to minimize the risk of re-identification of the dataset, however, no de-identification process eliminates that risk entirely.”
Our reading: Handshake concedes the re-identification risk remains after its process, and its page no longer says who carries the legal risk of the transfer, so the contract has to.
joinhandshake.com, read 17 Oct 2026
Not published: Licence term, Exclusivity, Who pays for de-identification. Ask for each in writing.
Public prices involving Handshake AI
- Handshake AI: median advertised hourly pay across its open AI-training roles (AITraining.jobs)
Median of the rates Handshake AI states in its live job feed, first listed in the report's platform table on 15 Oct 2026; one platform's rate card, not a market rate. Same owner as AIData.Broker.
A catalogue or marketplace listing, AITraining.jobs, The State of AI Training Pay 2026 (by platform)
$90/hr median; typical $55-$150/hrper hour (median advertised rate, paid to the worker)
- Original SWE-bench style coding task authored from the contributor's own private codebase (maintainer-style issue, hidden fail-to-pass and pass-to-pass tests, reference solution), AfterQuery University SWE Expert
AfterQuery pays the contributor only for tasks that pass automated validation (up to five attempts), on top of $300 per codebase connected; the same terms appear in AfterQuery's SWE Experts posting dated 14 Aug 2026, which also states $150 an hour. Undated posting, read on 2026-10-14.
The payer's own page, Handshake job posting by AfterQuery, University SWE Expert
$75 per task that is fully approvedper fully approved task
- Access to a substantial private codebase the contributor owns, used as the basis for SWE coding tasks (AfterQuery University SWE Expert)
Paid to the owner of the private codebase per codebase used, separate from the $75 per approved task; the lowest per-repository figure a named buyer publishes, against $10K to $100K+ at Turing's Lazarus programme.
The payer's own page, Handshake job posting by AfterQuery, University SWE Expert
$300 per codebase you connect and use as a basis for tasksper codebase connected
- Operating company's records, Handshake AI estimator output: 100 employees, 10 years of operation, Europe
Rendered by Handshake's own estimator on 11 Oct 2026 with the inputs named in the item; the page calls it indicative, not an offer. Handshake shows the same formula as micro1's estimator plus about 1%.
The payer's own page, Handshake AI, data partnerships page, payout estimator
$287,313 - $672,727per company (estimator output for the stated inputs)
- Operating company's records, Handshake AI estimator output: 100 employees, 10 years of operation, Other
Rendered by Handshake's own estimator on 11 Oct 2026 with the inputs named in the item; the page calls it indicative, not an offer. Handshake shows the same formula as micro1's estimator plus about 1%.
The payer's own page, Handshake AI, data partnerships page, payout estimator
$114,925 - $269,091per company (estimator output for the stated inputs)
- Operating company's records, Handshake AI estimator output: 100 employees, 10 years of operation, USA
Rendered by Handshake's own estimator on 11 Oct 2026 with the inputs named in the item; the page calls it indicative, not an offer. Handshake shows the same formula as micro1's estimator plus about 1%.
The payer's own page, Handshake AI, data partnerships page, payout estimator
$383,083 - $896,969per company (estimator output for the stated inputs)
- Operating company's records, Handshake AI estimator output: 150 employees, 15 years of operation, USA
Rendered by Handshake's own estimator on 11 Oct 2026 with the inputs named in the item; the page calls it indicative, not an offer. Handshake shows the same formula as micro1's estimator plus about 1%.
The payer's own page, Handshake AI, data partnerships page, payout estimator
$530,547 - $1,465,864per company (estimator output for the stated inputs)
- Operating company's records, Handshake AI estimator output: 20 employees, 3 years of operation, country Other
Rendered by Handshake's own estimator on 11 Oct 2026. For a small company outside the US, Canada and Europe the widget shows only a ceiling, no range.
The payer's own page, Handshake AI, data partnerships page, payout estimator
Up to $100,000per company (estimator output for the stated inputs)
- Operating company's records, Handshake AI estimator output: 20 employees, 3 years of operation, USA
Rendered by Handshake's own estimator on 11 Oct 2026 with the inputs named in the item; the page calls it indicative, not an offer. Handshake shows the same formula as micro1's estimator plus about 1%.
The payer's own page, Handshake AI, data partnerships page, payout estimator
$100,000 - $296,551per company (estimator output for the stated inputs)
- Operating company's records, Handshake AI estimator output: 200+ employees, 20+ years of operation, USA
Rendered by Handshake's own estimator on 11 Oct 2026 with the inputs named in the item; the page calls it indicative, not an offer. Handshake shows the same formula as micro1's estimator plus about 1%. The top of the sliders (200+ employees, 20+ years) shows a plus sign.
The payer's own page, Handshake AI, data partnerships page, payout estimator
$683,978 - $2,173,950+per company (estimator output for the stated inputs)
- Operating company's records, Handshake AI estimator output: 30 employees, 5 years of operation, USA
Rendered by Handshake's own estimator on 11 Oct 2026 with the inputs named in the item; the page calls it indicative, not an offer. Handshake shows the same formula as micro1's estimator plus about 1%.
The payer's own page, Handshake AI, data partnerships page, payout estimator
$158,979 - $380,518per company (estimator output for the stated inputs)
- Operating company's records, Handshake AI estimator output: 50 employees, 10 years of operation, USA
Rendered by Handshake's own estimator on 11 Oct 2026 with the inputs named in the item; the page calls it indicative, not an offer. Handshake shows the same formula as micro1's estimator plus about 1%.
The payer's own page, Handshake AI, data partnerships page, payout estimator
$288,755 - $610,508per company (estimator output for the stated inputs)
- Operating company's records, Handshake AI estimator output: 50 employees, 5 years of operation, USA
Rendered by Handshake's own estimator on 11 Oct 2026 with the inputs named in the item; the page calls it indicative, not an offer. Handshake shows the same formula as micro1's estimator plus about 1%.
The payer's own page, Handshake AI, data partnerships page, payout estimator
$241,584 - $467,265per company (estimator output for the stated inputs)
- An operating company's operational data (Handshake AI)
The widest published range. Its own estimator shows $383,083 to $896,969 for a company of 100 people with 10 years of operation, and calls that indicative, not an offer.
The payer's own page, Handshake AI
$100K to $4M+per partnership
- Cumulative payouts to Handshake AI fellows
Total paid to 188k+ fellows since Handshake AI launched in January 2025; a payout total, not a rate.
The payer's own page, Handshake AI, fellowship homepage
$500M+ payouts madecumulative total, all fellows
- Handshake AI data business gross margin
Research-firm figure; the same page puts AI gross revenue near $1B (April 2026) and net after payouts near $300M, consistent with about 30% kept.
Press report, Sacra, Handshake company page
gross margins around ~30%share of gross revenue kept after paying experts
- Handshake AI experts in mathematics, physics and computer science
Research-firm estimate, not a Handshake rate card; Handshake job posts seen the same day ranged from $75 to $100 (chemistry) to $110 to $140 (medicine).
Press report, Sacra
$100–125 per hourper hour (paid to the expert)
- AI Evaluation Specialist (Handshake AI fellowship, trending opportunity)
A ceiling, not a typical rate. The same page lists Game Developer/Designer and PCB Tool Specialist at up to $125/hr and an AI Evaluation Specialist at up to $17/hr.
The payer's own page, Handshake AI, fellowship homepage
Up to $17/hrper hour (paid to the worker)
- FP&A Analyst (Handshake AI fellowship, trending opportunity)
A ceiling, not a typical rate. The same page lists Game Developer/Designer and PCB Tool Specialist at up to $125/hr and an AI Evaluation Specialist at up to $17/hr.
The payer's own page, Handshake AI, fellowship homepage
Up to $80/hrper hour (paid to the worker)
- Philosophy Expert (Handshake AI fellowship, trending opportunity)
A ceiling, not a typical rate. The same page lists Game Developer/Designer and PCB Tool Specialist at up to $125/hr and an AI Evaluation Specialist at up to $17/hr.
The payer's own page, Handshake AI, fellowship homepage
Up to $120/hrper hour (paid to the worker)
- Software Engineer (Handshake AI fellowship, trending opportunity)
A ceiling, not a typical rate. The same page lists Game Developer/Designer and PCB Tool Specialist at up to $125/hr and an AI Evaluation Specialist at up to $17/hr.
The payer's own page, Handshake AI, fellowship homepage
Up to $120/hrper hour (paid to the worker)
- AI Red Teamer (LLM generalist, Remote) at Handshake AI
W-2 hourly through TCWGlobal, 40 hours a week; a Seattle variant carries the same band. Paid by Handshake AI, which sells the work to frontier labs.
The payer's own page, Handshake careers (Ashby job board)
$32 - $95 per hourper hour (paid to the worker)
- AI Red Teamer, CBRNE (Remote) at Handshake AI
Contract, US remote; chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives red-teaming. Paid by Handshake AI, which sells the work to frontier labs.
The payer's own page, Handshake careers (Ashby job board)
$65 - $158 per hourper hour (paid to the worker)
- AI Red Teamer, Cybersecurity (Remote) at Handshake AI
Contract, US remote. Paid by Handshake AI, which sells the work to frontier labs.
The payer's own page, Handshake careers (Ashby job board)
$65 - $125 per hourper hour (paid to the worker)
- AI Model Policy Trainer, Image Evaluation (Seattle onsite) at Handshake AI
Onsite in Seattle. Paid by Handshake AI, which sells the work to frontier labs.
The payer's own page, Handshake careers (Ashby job board)
$36 - $72 per hourper hour (paid to the worker)
- AI Safety Policy Evaluator, Violence and Threats (Seattle onsite) at Handshake AI
Content-policy evaluation for frontier labs; needs trust-and-safety, threat assessment or similar depth. Paid by Handshake AI, which sells the work to frontier labs.
The payer's own page, Handshake careers (Ashby job board)
$55 - $120 per hourper hour (paid to the worker)
- AI Model Policy Trainer, Generalist (Seattle) at Handshake AI
Placement within the range depends on experience. Paid by Handshake AI, which sells the work to frontier labs.
The payer's own page, Handshake careers (Ashby job board)
$30 - $85 per hourper hour (paid to the worker)
- AI Model Policy Trainer, Mental Health (Seattle onsite) at Handshake AI
Onsite in Seattle, Monday to Friday. Paid by Handshake AI, which sells the work to frontier labs.
The payer's own page, Handshake careers (Ashby job board)
$45 - $65 per hourper hour (paid to the worker)
- Professional documents licensed by the person who owns them (Handshake AI)
Only documents the person owns or may share. Work written for an employer or a client usually belongs to them, not to its author.
Press report, Business Insider, via AOL
$6 per accepted page, up to $30,000per page
- Handshake AI's largest frontier AI lab customer accounts
What a single frontier lab pays Handshake a year for human data, in the vendor's own hiring copy; labs are not named.
The payer's own page, Handshake careers, Senior Engagement Manager posting
$100M+ run rate per accountper account per year
- Handshake AI monthly payouts to its experts, against its gross run rate
The vendor's own figures: $60M a month is $720M a year (x12), about 72% of a ~$1B run rate, so roughly 28% stays with Handshake; about $2,000 per expert per month ($60M / 30,000). Repeated in a September 2026 red-teamer posting.
The payer's own page, Handshake careers, Engagement Manager posting
~$60M a month to over 30,000 experts; ~$1B run rateper month, all experts
What Handshake AI earns
Revenue, run rates and ARR as each was published. Run rates are often a best month times twelve, and gross figures include what passes through to experts.
- paid out to partners, to date (as shown 16 Oct 2026)Measurepaid out to partnersFigure$250M
- run-rate Aug 2026Measurerun-rate, Handshake AI (gross annualized revenue)Figure$1B
- run-rate early 2026Measureannualized revenueFigure$1B
- ARR end of 2025 (forecast)MeasureguidanceFigure$300M
- ARR Oct 2025MeasureARR, AI businessFigure$100M
Funding and acquisitions
- 28 Jan 2026EventAcquired by HandshakeAmountTerms not disclosed (acqui-hire of nine key Cleanlab employees; Cleanlab had raised a total of $30 million)
- 19 Jan 2022EventSeries FAmount$200MValuation$3.5B
In the brokerage market
Oct 2026, price range
$100K to $4M
Looking for companies with 20+ full time employees and 3+ years in operation; the estimator is 'an indicative estimate only and is not an offer to purchase your data'. The page shows no referral fee.
Cited in these 6 guides
- Which AI Data Buyers Take Holders Outside the US?
- AI Training Data Companies: Who Does What in 2026
- micro1, Handshake, Turing, Mercor: Data Programs Compared
- How Do AI Companies Get Their Training Data?
- How Much Is Your Company's Data Worth to AI Companies?
- What Are RL Environments? Who Builds, Buys and Prices Them
Cite this
AIData.Broker, “Handshake AI in the AI training data market”, reviewed 17 Oct 2026. https://aidata.markets/companies/handshake
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 if you credit AIData.Broker and link to this page. Each row names the publication that stated it, and words quoted from a source keep that source's own terms.