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De Gruyter Brill licenses its catalogue for AI inference through Cashmere

De Gruyter Brill will license its English-language books and journals to AI platforms through Cashmere's infrastructure for inference use only. The content may not be used to train large language models.

BERLIN, September 14, 2026. Cashmere, an infrastructure platform connecting premium content publishers with AI companies, announced a partnership with academic publisher De Gruyter Brill. De Gruyter Brill will license its English-language books and journals for AI inference use.1

Terms of the deal

The content may not be used to train large language models. It is held in Cashmere's air-gapped infrastructure, which the release says is SOC 2, ISO 27001 and GDPR compliant. De Gruyter Brill decides which content is licensed, on what terms and to which AI platforms. The publisher and its authors receive analytics on how AI platforms discover and use their content.1

The release does not disclose fees, the agreement's duration or any revenue split.1

Background

De Gruyter Brill formed in 2024 from the merger of De Gruyter and Brill and focuses on the humanities and social sciences.1 Its author FAQ on AI says it plans to sign formal agreements with generative AI providers and to give authors a corresponding share of revenue per title.2

Cashmere has announced a run of publisher partners in 2026, including Princeton University Press in August and IOP Publishing in September.3 De Gruyter Brill separately partnered with Consensus in August 2026 and is one of six publishers in Google's Expert Intelligence program for Play Books.

What it means for data sellers

A seller that lacks the staff to negotiate with many AI buyers can use a licensing platform. The trade-off is that the intermediary sits between the seller and the buyer, and takes a cut that is not disclosed here. Check who holds the content, how usage is measured and what happens to the copy if the contract ends.

How the deal came together

  1. Cashmere acts as an intermediary. The platform connects premium content publishers with AI companies and holds licensed content in air-gapped infrastructure.
  2. The publisher sets the terms. De Gruyter Brill decides which content is licensed, on what terms and to which AI platforms.
  3. Training is excluded. The release says licensed content is never used to train large language models.
  4. Analytics flow back. The publisher and its authors get analytics on how AI platforms discover and use their content.

Takeaways for companies with data

  • Intermediaries can package inference-only licenses for publishers that do not want to negotiate with each AI company.
  • Usage analytics are a selling point to authors and contributors.
  • A no-training promise is the main commercial line for many academic publishers.

Sources

Every numbered reference above points to an entry here. Figures come from these pages as of the date shown at the top of the article. Where a source reports a number it got from unnamed people, the text says so.

  1. Cashmere and De Gruyter Brill partnership (EIN Presswire, September 2026)
  2. Information for authors on artificial intelligence (De Gruyter Brill, accessed October 2026)
  3. Cashmere partnership with Princeton University Press and IOP Publishing (Princeton University Press, August 2026)

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About the AI Data Deal Tracker

SellYourAIData tracks publicly reported sales and licenses of data to AI companies, with the price, terms and sources for each. Entries are checked against public reporting and updated as deals change. SellYourAIData was not involved in this deal. To ask what your company's data could sell for, get a free valuation. To report a deal, contact us.