What's useful
- Repositories with full commit history, not just the latest snapshot.
- Code reviews and pull requests, including the discussion.
- Linked issues and tickets showing what each change was for.
- Tests, build and deployment configuration.
What qualifies
The listing is for software companies of roughly 15 to 500 employees with substantial private codebases built by their own team.
What to check first
- Who owns the code. Under UK law, code employees write in the course of their jobs normally belongs to your company. Code from contractors and agencies belongs to them unless your contract assigns it. If you build software for clients, the client may own it.
- Open-source and third-party code. Vendored libraries and copied snippets carry their own licences. They can often be identified and excluded.
- Secrets in history. API keys, passwords and certificates committed in the past are still in the history. They must be found and removed, and rotated if still live.
- Customer data in repositories. Test fixtures and database dumps sometimes contain real customer data.
What it's worth
Mercor lists potential company earnings of $50kâ$500k for software companies, depending on what's in scope. That is Mercor's own figure, not a promise or guarantee from us.
Can we license old or retired products only?
Yes. Retired codebases with long histories are often a good fit and less commercially sensitive.
Does the licence let the buyer use our product?
Licences for AI training normally limit use to training and evaluation. Check the permitted-use terms before signing.