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How a project runs from first enquiry to delivery, and what to put in a specification so the first quote is a real one.
The process, step by step
- You send a specification. Data type, volume, minimum distinct contributor count, collection conditions, annotation depth, delivery format. The more specific, the more useful the reply.
- We match and quote. We go to producers we vet against the spec, confirm they can hit it, and come back with a real cost and timeline. Where a category or language has an established producer pool, that is typically a few days.
- We agree the quality bar. The annotation guideline is written or reviewed, and the delivery format is fixed, before anything is collected.
- Pilot batch. A small batch is produced and sent to you for review. This is where specification gaps surface.
- Production. The full run proceeds against the approved pilot, with quality control as the data comes in rather than as a final pass.
- Delivery and documentation. The data files, labels or transcription, contributor metadata, the annotation guideline, consent records and the quality report.
What to put in a specification
A specification that answers these questions gets a faster and more accurate quote than one that does not.
- Data category: speech, text, image, video, embodied AI, or a combination in one project.
- Language and variety: where it applies: dialect where it matters, and script where the language has more than one writing system.
- Volume: total hours or items, and the minimum number of distinct contributors. The second number constrains the project far more than the first.
- Collection conditions: studio, home, mobile, field, or a named environment with a target quality floor.
- Annotation depth: labelling only, labelling plus intent, phoneme-level, or diarization.
- Delivery format: file container and structure, segmentation length, metadata schema.
- Compliance scope: where the contributors are, where the data will be used, and whether the model will be distributed.
Common questions
How long does a project take?
Where a language has an established producer pool, a quote usually takes a few days and production is scheduled from the agreed start date. For a low-resource language or an unusual specification, speaker recruitment is the step that sets the timeline and it is genuinely hard to predict in advance. We will give you an honest range rather than a date we cannot hold.
What is a pilot batch?
A small batch recorded and annotated before the full run begins, which you review and can reject. It costs little and it surfaces specification gaps while there is still time to fix them.
What if the delivery does not meet specification?
Re-work is covered in the agreement before production starts. Because the specification is written down and the pilot batch is approved, disputes about what was promised are rare, and when they occur, the specification is the reference.
Do you publish prices?
No. Every project is quoted from its specification. Hours, distinct speaker count, recording conditions and annotation depth all change the cost substantially, so a published number would be fiction.
Can I get a sample before committing?
Yes. Select a free sample in the request form. For most projects the pilot batch serves this purpose and is more informative than a generic sample file.
Do you work with suppliers as well as buyers?
Yes. If you have recording capability, annotation capacity or native-speaker access in a language we cover, see the Sell AI training data page.
Still stuck?
Use the form below. If your question is about whether a specific requirement is sourceable, include the language and the approximate volume and you will get a concrete answer rather than a general one.
Submit a sourcing request
Tell us the language, the hours, and what the data needs to look like. You will get a real number and a real timeline, not a range. If we cannot source it well, we will tell you that instead.
- Pilot batch before the full run, so problems surface early.
- Consent documentation delivered with the data.
- No medical or clinical data. No recorded telephone calls.
- You send the spec Language, hours, recording conditions, and the deadline.
- We reply within two business days A real number and a real timeline, not a range.
- You approve a pilot batch A small run first, so problems surface before the full order.
- Full run, then delivery with documents Audio, transcripts, and the consent record for every speaker.