Cloudflare has announced the acquisition of Human Native, an AI data marketplace designed to connect content creators and publishers with AI developers. The move is aimed at enabling a more structured way for AI companies to discover and access content, while helping rights holders surface, package and monetise their data through clearer value exchange mechanisms.
Cloudflare said the acquisition supports its broader effort to develop tools that allow content owners to make deliberate choices around AI usage ranging from restricting bot access entirely to optimising content for AI discovery or licensing content for a price.
Addressing the growing demand for high-quality training and inference data
As AI models increasingly rely on large volumes of high-quality content for training and inference, publishers and creators are navigating a rapidly changing environment. Content owners are now required to define their own AI strategies, balancing visibility, control and monetisation as AI-driven consumption rises.
Cloudflare stated that Human Native’s technology and team will help accelerate the development of capabilities that enable content to be:
- discovered by AI developers
- structured into AI-ready formats
- priced and licensed through transparent channels
Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare, said creators should retain control over how their work is accessed and used, whether for human audiences or AI consumption. He added that while Cloudflare had earlier introduced tools to control bot access, the broader goal is to enable an Internet business model that supports content discovery and compensation in the AI era.
Human Native’s role and background
Founded in 2024, Human Native has positioned itself as an intermediary layer between rights holders and AI developers, focused on creating a more equitable and transparent content ecosystem. The company is backed by UK-based venture firms LocalGlobe and Mercuri.
Cloudflare noted that the Human Native team brings experience from technology and media organisations, including DeepMind, Google, Figma and Bloomberg, which it expects will support the development of operational tooling for content packaging and licensing.
Dr James Smith, co-founder and CEO of Human Native, said the company was founded with the aim of ensuring creators retain control, credit and compensation when their work is used to build AI products, while supporting responsible AI development at scale.
Investors from LocalGlobe and Mercuri also highlighted the increasing importance of ethically sourced, high-quality data as a differentiator for AI systems and the need for mechanisms that enable fair compensation for creators and publishers.
Implications for the AI and publishing ecosystem
The acquisition reflects a broader market shift where:
- AI companies are seeking reliable content sources and licensing clarity.
- Publishers and creators are exploring options beyond unrestricted scraping.
- Infrastructure providers are attempting to introduce scalable models for discovery, access and payment.
Cloudflare said the acquisition will support the next phase of its work in enabling transparent value exchange between AI developers and original content owners.