Alphabet has emerged victorious in a bankruptcy auction, securing a vast collection of de-identified business data, software code, and operational records from the now-defunct low-cost carrier Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc. The tech giant intends to leverage these assets to further refine its artificial intelligence capabilities, according to a filing submitted to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on August 14.
The winning bid of $10 million grants Alphabet access to a massive data repository belonging to the collapsed airline, which includes 100 million emails, 500 million Microsoft Teams chat and collaboration records, alongside revenue-related information, aircraft operations data, employee productivity metrics, and audit and risk management materials. Court documents indicate that personal data and privileged materials, such as Spirit's 97.5 million passenger profiles and approximately 50.2 million records from its "Free Spirit" loyalty program, are excluded from the transaction.
The court filings further reveal that the data will undergo additional processing to ensure it cannot be linked to specific customers. In a statement released on Monday, Alphabet emphasized that no personal information would be acquired, with all data being rigorously de-identified by a third party before delivery to completely eliminate any personally identifiable information. The company stated that the acquisition of this portion of the corporate dataset could provide valuable support for improving its products and AI models.
The Florida-based carrier ceased operations on May 2, marking its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing within two years, triggered by surging fuel prices and collapsed financing negotiations. At the time of shutdown, Spirit carried approximately $8.1 billion in debt and laid off around 17,000 employees. Court records show the acquired dataset also encompasses marketing campaigns, human resources information, strategic planning, and project management documentation, along with 7.2 billion records of competitor flight pricing, roughly 7.5 billion passenger transaction records dating back to 2008, and pricing curve data.
The acquisition further includes approximately 30 million lines of code, development metadata, software models, and algorithms, as well as over 175,000 employee records tracing back to 1986. Alphabet's bid surpassed the $7.5 million offer from AI talent recruitment firm Mercor.io Corp., which has been designated as the backup buyer should the transaction with Alphabet fall through. Last month, Spirit received bankruptcy court approval to sell its 22 takeoff and landing slots at New York's LaGuardia Airport to JetBlue Airways for $58.5 million.