How a family office abroad can raise data licensing
The office spots fit and opens the door; the company does the work. A single family office in Geneva, Dubai, Sao Paulo or Singapore that owns a US operating business directly rarely runs it day to day, but it approves the budget, holds board seats and hears from the CEO and CFO every quarter. That is enough to raise the idea. The company's CEO or CFO then acts as authorized sponsor, deals with SourceX directly and decides whether to sign.
What the company grants is a license, not a sale. It keeps ownership of its records, agrees one net payout fixed in the signed Dataset Deal Confirmation, and nothing is binding until it signs. Payment is a single amount, within 60 calendar days after SourceX receives a valid invoice following Closing. For an owner planning to hold for a generation, that is cash into the company without new equity, new debt or a change of control.
Why AI developers want records from companies you own
AI systems are moving from answering questions to carrying out tasks, and building those agents takes records of real work: how a quote became an order, how a support ticket was resolved, how an engineering change was reviewed and shipped. Most of that sits inside companies, not on the public web. Researchers at Epoch AI have projected that language models could fully use the stock of public human-generated text sometime between 2026 and 2032 if current trends continue, a forecast with wide uncertainty.
Data licensing contracts already appear in public filings. Reddit's February 2024 S-1 registration statement disclosed data licensing arrangements entered in January 2024 with an aggregate contract value of $203.0 million over terms of two to three years. That is consumer forum content and a multi-year total, not annual revenue, and it says nothing about what an operating company's records are worth. It does show that licensing data to SourceX is a contracted, disclosed activity.
Which US holdings are worth a look
Start with control positions and board-level holdings where the office can reach management directly. Sector matters less than headcount, history and how the work was recorded.
| Signal | What to look for in the US holding | Why buyers care |
|---|---|---|
| Headcount | 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), even if the team is smaller today | More people doing documented work leave more connected records |
| History | Several years of documented operations, including systems from before your investment | Long histories show how processes and decisions changed |
| Own systems | The company runs its own email, CRM, finance, ticketing or engineering tools rather than only the group's | Records the US entity created and controls are simpler to license |
| Breadth | Records across many systems; strong companies often run 10-15+ | Connected systems show whole workflows rather than fragments |
| Outcomes | Deals won and lost, tickets closed or escalated, projects delivered or cancelled | Outcomes make records useful for training and evaluation |
| Language | Primarily English-language records | English records are part of the baseline SourceX screens for |
Typical fits in an international office's US book: a B2B software or IT services platform bought outright, a distribution or logistics business held for many years, an engineering or professional services firm, or the US arm of the family's legacy industrial group with its own back office. The guide to raising data licensing with US portfolio companies from abroad covers time zones, group structures and who to brief first.
The HOLD screen for each company
Four checks per company. If one is a clear no, park the holding and revisit it later.
- ☐Headcount: did the company reach 50+ full-time employees at peak, contractors excluded?
- ☐Ownership of the records: did the company create the records, does it control them, and do customer contracts and employee notices allow licensing?
- ☐Length of history: are there several years of documented operations, with archives and retired systems still exportable?
- ☐Decision-maker: will the CEO, CFO, owner or another authorized representative lead, and would they consider an exclusive AI-training license?
Shared group systems need a second look. Where the company uses the parent group's email tenant, ERP or document store, separate what the US entity created from what belongs to other group companies before anyone discusses scope.
When to raise it in the family office calendar
The best moments are the ones where the office and US management already review money, systems or the future of the business.
| Moment | Why it works | What to ask the US CEO or CFO |
|---|---|---|
| Annual budget approval | New sources of cash are already on the agenda | Which of our records go back furthest, and who could own an export? |
| Quarterly board meeting | Management is presenting systems and operating metrics | Would you take a short screening call to see whether we qualify? |
| ERP or CRM replacement | Old platforms are about to be retired | Can we keep a complete export before the old system is switched off? |
| Distribution planning | The family wants liquidity without selling equity | Would a one-time license payment change this year's cash plan? |
| Management succession | People who know the old systems may leave | Who knows where the archives live, and can we document it now? |
| Recapitalization or partial sale review | Advisers are cataloguing the company's assets | Should a license come before or after any transaction? |
If a sale process is live, bring in the deal advisers first so the license and its exclusivity fit the transaction rather than complicate it.
How the introduction works when the office is abroad
The office makes the introduction; no one at the office touches the records.
- Decide who registers: the family office entity or a named principal. That choice sets the partner agreement and the tax form.
- Raise the idea with the US CEO or CFO and get agreement to be introduced.
- Send your referral link, which takes the company to sourcex.si/apply with your code attached, or submit the company through the referral form.
- SourceX checks headcount, history, data breadth and rights with the company's sponsor.
- The company completes a data inventory listing each system, the years it covers and what can be exported.
- The company agrees price and terms with SourceX, with board approval under its own governance.
- SourceX completes its final review; once a company is deal-ready, SourceX typically responds within about two weeks.
- The agreement is signed, the data is prepared and delivered under redaction rules agreed in advance, and the company is paid.
De-identification and redaction requirements are settled with the company before any work begins, and nothing is delivered without an executed agreement and the company's authorization. The license payment belongs to the company; the family benefits as its shareholder.
What to say to the US CEO
Send it from the principal or head of direct investments the CEO already knows, and copy the CFO.
We have been looking at ways our companies in the U.S., Canada, the EU, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia (outside the U.S., Canada and the EU, at least 90% of the data must be in English) can earn from what they already hold. Some companies now license their operational records to SourceX for a one-time payment. The company keeps ownership, approves scope and price, and nothing is shared without a signed agreement. SourceX runs the process with you directly. Could you and the CFO take a short screening call and tell us whether it is worth pursuing?
How partner rewards work when the office also owns the company
Partners earn 25% of the compensation SourceX actually pays the company you refer, capped at $100,000 per referred company. A reward becomes payable after SourceX has paid the referred company under its signed agreement and the payout conditions in the program terms are met, including finance approval and your tax and payment details.
Being owner and partner at once raises governance points. The reward is calculated on the actual supplier payout and is never deducted from what the company receives, but co-investors, minority holders and the US board should still be told about it. Decide in advance whether any reward goes to the office entity or to a family member, and record the decision under the office's conflict policy. The referral earnings calculator shows how the published formula works, and the program terms govern the details.
Paperwork follows the payee. A non-US office entity is asked for an entity tax form, and the W-8BEN-E guide for advisory firms walks through it; the question of whether a referral reward is US-source income is covered separately. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel, tax adviser or professional body before acting.
When to leave a holding off the list
- The stake is a minority co-investment with no board seat and no route to management.
- The business runs almost entirely on the parent group's systems, and no one has separated the US records from the rest.
- The records are mainly consumer personal data or patient health information.
- Archives were deleted when systems were replaced.
- The company has already licensed the same data for AI training.
- A court, trustee or assignee controls the assets and has not been involved.
- The business never reached 50+ full-time employees at peak.
If the office runs a hands-on operating team, the playbook for private equity operating partners covers portfolio-wide screening. For companies the principals know but do not own, the how it works page explains the introduction route.
Next step
Pick one US holding and run the HOLD screen with its CFO this quarter. If it passes, register as a partner in the office's name or a principal's, or have the CEO apply directly at sourcex.si/apply through your referral link.