AI firms bid for data from bankrupt companies, including Spirit Airlines' passenger records

Artificial intelligence companies are increasingly setting their sights on data held by bankrupt firms, with Google and startup Micro1 among those bidding for a large data set belonging to Spirit Airlines, according to a report by Anadolu Agency.

The report says Google has offered $10 million, while Micro1 has proposed paying $12.5 million for Spirit Airlines' data, which includes passenger records and worker information accumulated during the carrier's operations before its bankruptcy proceedings.

The bids illustrate a broader trend in which AI developers are turning to the data assets of distressed or failed companies as a potential source of large, real-world data sets that could be used to train AI models, given the growing demand for high-quality training data across the industry.

Anadolu Agency's report does not specify what privacy safeguards, if any, would apply to the passenger and worker data included in the bankruptcy sale, nor does it detail the current status of the bidding process or when a winning bid might be finalized.

The competition for Spirit Airlines' data set comes as the airline, which filed for bankruptcy, works through proceedings that typically involve liquidating or transferring various company assets, with data increasingly recognized as a valuable asset alongside more traditional holdings such as aircraft and real estate.