Major revelation regarding the Google-Spirit Airlines deal; company clarifies details

Google-Spirit Airlines Deal: Google has secured Spirit Airlines' internal business data and custom software by placing a $10 million bid in the auction for the bankrupt airline.

Google-Spirit Airlines Deal: A major deal involving Google and Spirit Airlines is currently making headlines. Google has acquired Spirit Airlines' internal business data and custom software by placing a $10 million bid in the auction for the bankrupt carrier. According to Google, this data will be used for product development and training AI models. However, the sale has not yet been fully finalized; a hearing is scheduled for August 19 before Judge Sean Lane at the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The company has clarified that the purchase does not include passengers' personal information or credit card data. Following the announcement of this deal, the key question is exactly what Google has—and hasn't—acquired from Spirit Airlines.

How did Google win the auction?

The competition for Spirit Airlines' data was quite interesting. Google started with a bid of $5 million. AI data company Mercor bid $5.2 million and later offered $7 million, provided they could first take the raw data and anonymize it themselves. Subsequently, Google raised its bid to $10 million and won the auction. Meanwhile, Mercor remains the backup buyer with a bid of $7.5 million.

What did Google buy?

Google has purchased Spirit Airlines' internal data and custom software. A company spokesperson told Business Insider that the acquisition does not include customer or credit card information. Google also stated that any personally identifiable information would be removed from the data it receives. A third party will handle this process, ensuring the data is completely scrubbed before it reaches Google.

How large is the data?

According to court documents, the volume of data Google is acquiring is substantial. It includes approximately 100 million emails and 500 million Microsoft Teams messages. Additionally, the package includes approximately 30 million lines of code, development-related metadata, and software models. It also contains over 175,000 employee records dating back to 1986. The data encompasses company revenue, aircraft operations, employee productivity, audit and fraud-related materials, marketing campaigns, HR files, board presentations, and budget documents.

What passenger-related data is included?

The documents reference pricing for approximately 7.2 billion competing flights and around 7.5 billion passenger transaction records dating back to 2008. Although Google did not acquire Spirit Airlines' 97.5 million passenger profiles or the estimated 50.2 million 'Free Spirit' loyalty records, the documents contain a specific provision. Spirit Airlines' estate retains the right to sell its customer list. This list may include aggregated annual spending data for each passenger and could be sold to buyers in the hospitality or travel sectors.

How will the data be secured?

Google has spoken of "scrubbing" the data, but the sales agreement provides further details on the process. According to the agreement filed on August 14, the agency responsible for de-identifying the data must be acceptable to Google or designated by Google. Google will also bear the cost of this entire process. The company will have a proper opportunity to review and comment on the process before receiving the data. Even after names and identifying details are removed, the relationships between records will be preserved; it is precisely these connections that could make the data valuable for training AI agents.