Defunct Startups Monetize Private Slack Chats and Emails, Selling Data to AI Firms for Up To $100,000
Key points
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Defunct companies are directly selling old Slack chats and internal emails as AI training data.
Multiple sources confirm the practice, with @[email protected] reporting CEO Shanna Johnson of Cielo24 sold 'every Slack message, internal email.'
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The monetization effort prices this private data highly.
AI companies specializing in winding down startups charge between $10,000 and $100,000 per company for the datasets, as noted by @[email protected].
OPPOSE
The data sold is not generic; it compromises individual privacy.
Marc Rotenberg, cited by @[email protected], argues, 'Employee privacy remains a key concern, particularly because... It’s not generic data. It’s identifiable people.'
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The practice is interpreted as a reflection of advanced capitalism.
@[email protected] argues that this sale proves that 'Your private work banter is the new liquid asset' under 'Late-stage capitalism.'
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Privacy advocates are pushing regulators to act against these data sales.
@[email protected] reports that advocates are urging the Federal Trade Commission to step up its oversight of AI-driven businesses.
Source posts
This kind of BS needs to be addressed asap...potentially scary datasets just sitting around...whether digital or analogue...
#data #privacy
https://www.fastcompany.com/91528808/shuttered-startups-are-selling-old-slack-chats-and-emails-to-ai-companies
0 boosts · 1 favs · 0 replies · Apr 18, 2026
#privacy#data
Failed Companies Are Selling Old Slack Chats and Email Archives to Train AI
Defunct startups are pawning off their former employees conversations for up to $100,000, according to a new report.
gizmodo.com/failed-compa... Nothing online is sacred. Everything's for sale.
Failed Companies Are Selling O...
41 boosts · 1 favs · 2 replies · Apr 19, 2026
Fast Company: Shuttered startups are selling old Slack chats and emails to AI companies. “According to a report by Forbes, defunct companies are selling their digital footprints to AI companies as training data—and making real money from it. Shanna Johnson, the CEO of now-defunct software company Cielo24, told the publication that she was able to sell every Slack message, internal email, and […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/18/fast-company-shuttered-startups-are-selling-old-slack-chats-and-emails-to-ai-companies/
1 boosts · 0 favs · 0 replies · Apr 18, 2026
#trainingai#techindustry#slack#siliconvalley#security#privacy
Failed startups are selling old Slack chats and email archives to train AI - companies that help wind down startups are monetising internal communications for 10,000-100,000 USD per company as demand for realistic training data grows. https://gizmodo.com/failed-companies-are-selling-old-slack-chats-and-email-archives-to-train-ai-2000747916 #AIagent #AI #GenAI #Data
0 boosts · 0 favs · 0 replies · Apr 17, 2026
#aiagent#ai#genai#data
Late-stage capitalism: everything is for sale, including the remains of your failed startup. Shuttered companies are now pawning off old Slack chats and email archives as AI training data. Your private work banter is the new liquid asset. 😔
https://gizmodo.com/failed-companies-are-selling-old-slack-chats-and-email-archives-to-train-ai-2000747916 #AI
1 boosts · 0 favs · 0 replies · Apr 18, 2026
#ai
📰 Shuttered Startups Are Selling Old Slack Chats, Emails To AI Companies
Some failed startups are reportedly selling old Slack messages, emails, and other internal records to AI companies as training data, creating a new way to cash out after shutting down. Fast Company...
📰 Source: Slashdot
🔗 Link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/04/18/014244/shuttered-startups-are-selling-old-slack-chats-emails-to-ai-companies?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed
#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #DataScience
2 boosts · 0 favs · 0 replies · Apr 18, 2026
#datascience#artificialintelligence#ai
🤯
"Failed Companies Are Selling Old Slack Chats and Email Archives to Train AI
Defunct startups are pawning off their former employees conversations for up to $100,000, according to a new report.
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Still, some privacy advocates are raising concerns about what this means for workers whose data may be included in those datasets.
“I think the privacy issues here are quite substantial,” Center for AI and Digital Policy Founder Marc Rotenberg told the outlet. “Employee privacy remains a key concern, particularly because people have become so dependent on these new internal messaging tools like Slack…It’s not generic data. It’s identifiable people.”
The Center for AI and Digital Policy also recently sent a letter to the Senate Commerce Committee urging the Federal Trade Commission to step up its oversight of AI-driven businesses."
https://gizmodo.com/failed-companies-are-selling-old-slack-chats-and-email-archives-to-train-ai-2000747916
#noai #AI
5 boosts · 0 favs · 0 replies · Apr 17, 2026
#ai#noai