AI buyers do pay field service companies for their records: a July 2026 headline in The Information said data-labeling startups are paying HVAC companies $150,000 for data. Polyshares lists licenses of $275,000 to $450,000 with a solar company, a general contractor and a roofer (Polyshares, checked October 2026). For a 40-person HVAC, plumbing or electrical shop, years of detailed work orders and technician notes matter more than headcount.
On this page
- Why do AI labs want data from HVAC, plumbing and roofing companies?
- Which field service records do buyers want?
- What have trades companies been paid?
- What might a 40-person trades company expect?
- What privacy points are specific to field service?
- How do I export records from ServiceTitan, Jobber or Housecall Pro?
- How is a work order de-identified?
- Should I tell my team and customers?
- How fast should I decide?
- Questions
- Sources
Why do AI labs want data from HVAC, plumbing and roofing companies?
The public internet has plenty of how-to articles and almost no real service records. A trades company's system holds thousands of examples of the actual work: a customer calls about a noise, a dispatcher books it, a technician writes what they found, the office sends options, the customer picks one, and someone follows up when it fails again. AI agents that schedule, quote and support customers learn from that sequence.
Buyers say so in public. Scale AI lists "Field Services (HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical)" among its industries of interest (Scale AI, October 2026). Nyne asks for jobs, dispatch, calendars and service records (Nyne, October 2026). On October 13, 2026, HUMXN Research Labs announced a program to buy service records, repair histories, job-site photos, equipment manuals and training videos from trades businesses. It set a goal of $50 million, with deals "often exceeding six figures." That goal comes from a summary of a press release, not money spent (explainx.ai, October 2026).
See Scale AI, Polyshares, Nyne and micro1 for their terms. Data Licensors, the company that publishes this page, also licenses records from field service companies. Our buyer page sits next to the others.
Which field service records do buyers want?
| Trade | Records buyers ask for |
|---|---|
| All trades | Work orders with technician notes, dispatch threads, estimates and the option the customer chose, invoices, callbacks and warranty claims, service agreements, job photos tied to work orders, customer emails and texts, SOPs and training material |
| HVAC | Diagnostic notes, equipment model and age, refrigerant and parts used, maintenance plan visits, repair or replace decisions |
| Plumbing | Drain and leak diagnoses, camera inspection notes, emergency call handling, permit records |
| Roofing | Inspection reports, measurements, material choices, crew schedules, supplements and change orders |
| Electrical | Panel and load notes, code corrections, inspection results, change orders |
| Solar | Site surveys, design revisions, permit and interconnection steps, install checklists, issues after install |
What buyers pay for is the full job: request, diagnosis, quote, decision, work, follow-up. A work order that says "fixed, done" is worth far less than one with the technician's reasoning.
What have trades companies been paid?
| Company | Amount | Kind of figure | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| HVAC companies | $150,000 | Press report, headline only (article is paywalled) | The Information, July 2026 |
| Solar company | $275,000 | Buyer case study, perpetual exclusive license | Polyshares, October 2026 |
| General contractor | $300,000 | Buyer case study, perpetual exclusive license | Polyshares, October 2026 |
| Roofing company | $450,000 | Buyer case study, perpetual exclusive license | Polyshares, October 2026 |
None of these name the company, and the Polyshares figures are the buyer's own account. A perpetual exclusive license gives away more than a two-year or non-exclusive one, so compare like with like. All four are in our deal ledger.
What might a 40-person trades company expect?
Only published ranges and reported averages exist, and they are wide:
- Polyshares says typical deals run $100,000 to $2 million and above (Polyshares, October 2026). Its managing partner, Ryan Lock, said on a podcast that the average deal is $300,000 to $400,000 for a 50 to 100 person company (podcast recap on X, October 2026). That is a second-hand summary, not verified.
- micro1 publishes tiers of $100K to $500K, $500K to $2M and $2M+, and asks for 30 or more full-time staff (micro1, October 2026).
- Scale AI calls 40 or more employees its preferred starting point and assesses each case (Scale AI, October 2026). Nyne asks for at least 20 full-time US W-2 employees and three years in business, and says partnerships are commonly worth $100K or more (Nyne, October 2026).
- Mercor had no listing for HVAC or home service companies as of October 2026. Its construction listing, for general contractors and specialty subcontractors with 50 to 2,000 employees and full project closeout records, says such a company earns $115,000 to $1 million (Mercor Data, October 2026).
For a number based on your own answers, get an estimate. For every buyer's range, see how much company data is worth.
What privacy points are specific to field service?
Trades records are full of homeowners' details, because the job happens at someone's home. Before anything leaves, these need attention:
- Addresses are the job. Every work order has a street address. It should become a placeholder, with only a broad region kept if you agree.
- Gate, lockbox and alarm codes. Dispatch notes often hold them. Treat them like passwords and remove them.
- Photos. Job photos can show faces, house numbers, license plates, mail and the inside of homes. Filter or blur them, or leave them out.
- Call recordings. Some states require every party's consent to record a confidential call; California is one (California Penal Code section 632). If you include recordings of calls your office staff took, check how they were recorded and leave out any you cannot vouch for. This is general information, not legal advice.
- Payment and financing. Card numbers sometimes end up in notes, and financing applications hold credit details. Payment card data is on our never accept list.
- Technician data. GPS tracks, drug test results and license numbers belong to your staff. Leave HR and fleet tracking out unless there is a clear reason.
- Insurance claim files. Roofing and restoration files carry policy and claim numbers. Remove them like account numbers.
How do I export records from ServiceTitan, Jobber or Housecall Pro?
Each platform exports lists to a spreadsheet. What each help center describes:
| Platform | How to export | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ServiceTitan | An admin or manager turns on "Allow exporting search results" under Settings, People, Employees, Permissions. Then search for jobs and click Export to Excel | ServiceTitan Help, October 2026 |
| Jobber | Clients, More Actions, Export Clients, then CSV. Jobber emails the file, up to 1,500 rows per file. Many reports can also be exported from Jobber.com, not the app | Jobber Help Center |
| Housecall Pro | The Customers and Jobs lists export to an Excel or Google Sheets file | Housecall Pro Help Center, July 2026 |
These exports are lists. Technician notes, photos and attachments may not come with them, so ask your vendor how to get the full job history. Email and texts with customers often live outside the platform; our guides on email archives and Microsoft 365 cover those. Data Licensors never asks for passwords: your office runs the export with our step-by-step guidance, or grants a limited read-only connection you can revoke.
How is a work order de-identified?
The meaning stays and the identity goes. A note like "Mike replaced the capacitor on the Hendersons' Carrier unit at 14 Oak St, gate code 4471, quoted $2,900 for a new system" becomes "[Tech] replaced the capacitor on the [Customer] Carrier unit at [Address], [code removed], quoted $2,900 for a new system." The brand, the part, the price and the decision stay, because that is what an AI system learns from. You see a de-identified sample before you sign. More: how de-identification works.
Should I tell my team and customers?
We recommend telling your staff before records are shared, and we can provide a plain note to send them. For customers, check what your service agreements and privacy policy promise about how their information is used, and leave out anything those promises do not allow. Our guide on whether selling company data is legal covers both. This is general information, not legal advice.
How fast should I decide?
Take the time to compare. Business Insider (October 2026) reported owners getting six-figure "exploding offers" that expire in 48 hours. A short deadline is a reason to slow down and ask a second buyer, not to skip the rights check.
