The General Data Company vs Telegraph Lab
Both pay companies for internal business records used to train AI. The main differences on their published terms are below; the real answer comes from putting both offers side by side.
Key differences
- They pay differently: The General Data Company: priced after scoping: no figure until your records are reviewed; Telegraph Lab: pays a one-time amount for your records.
- Company status: The General Data Company accepts operating, closed; Telegraph Lab accepts operating.
Side by side
| The General Data Company | Telegraph Lab | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Priced after scoping: no figure until your records are reviewed | Pays a one-time amount for your records |
| Who qualifies | No minimum published | No minimum published |
| Accepts | operating, closed | operating |
| How it pays | unknown: payment and scope are agreed in writing per deal and paid by milestones; the page does not say whether it is upfront or revenue share. | upfront: a licensing payment with price and payment milestones set in a signed written agreement; no revenue share is described. |
| Published range | None published | Target licensing payments of $100K-$4M, subject to data review and agreed terms. A calculator example for a 100-person, 10-year US company shows $385K-$895K, which the page calls illustrative. The buyer's figures, not an offer. |
| When it pays | Paid according to milestones agreed in the written contract. | Not published; payment milestones are set in each agreement. |
| Exclusivity | Not stated; the seller decides in writing who receives the results. | Varies; any exclusivity must be explicitly agreed. |
| Data handling | Operator anonymizes on the seller's instruction (as a GDPR Art. 28 processor): names, company names, addresses, phone numbers and customer/VAT numbers are replaced consistently with invented ones; processes, dates, quantities and technical content are kept. A model finds identifiers, a person checks, then the linking key is deleted. Only the anonymized result is licensed. No files move before a signed agreement. Operator says it carries tech E&O and cyber insurance. | Sensitive fields such as names, contact details and account IDs are removed, or replaced with consistent placeholders, then the prepared copy is reviewed against the agreed scope. The company approves scope before work begins and keeps its original files and ownership. The agreement names authorized recipients, which may include frontier AI labs. Telegraph says de-identification lowers but cannot remove re-identification risk. |
| Good fit if | You run or ran an industrial or manufacturing business with years of order, maintenance and engineering records that are no longer commercially sensitive. | You run an established business with years of documents and software records and want a one-time licensing payment under a written agreement that names the recipients. |
You can apply to both at once. Nothing you submit commits you, and two offers make it easier to judge either one. See comparing offers.
Apply to The General Data Company Apply to Telegraph Lab
The General Data Company: We may be paid: this buyer pays us a referral fee if a company we sent signs. You pay us nothing. Among buyers that fit your answers, buyers that pay us are shown first.
Telegraph Lab: We have applied to this buyer's referral program. If accepted, it may pay us a fee when a company we sent signs. You pay us nothing.
Sources
- The General Data Company - Data partnerships, accessed 2026-10-15
- The General Data Company - Referral section, accessed 2026-10-15
- The General Data Company - Terms, accessed 2026-10-15
- The General Data Company - Legal notice, accessed 2026-10-15
- The General Data Company - Data licensing, accessed 2026-10-15
- Telegraph Lab - Data partnerships, accessed 2026-10-15
- Telegraph Lab - Referral Partner Program, accessed 2026-10-15
- Telegraph Lab - Refer a company, accessed 2026-10-15
- Telegraph Lab - Terms, accessed 2026-10-15