Tonic.ai and Carahsoft partner to bring ai-native synthetic data to the Public Sector. Partnership provides Government and enterprise teams on-demand access to safe, high-fidelity data for software and AI development. SAN FRANCISCO and RESTON, Va., Oct. 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Tonic.ai, the synthetic data company, and Carahsoft Technology Corp., The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider(R), today announced a partnership. Under the agreement, Carahsoft will serve as Tonic.ai's Master Government Aggregator(R), making the Tonic platform available to Public Sector organizations through Carahsoft's reseller partners and Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP V), Information Technology Enterprise Solutions - Software 2 (ITES-SW2), National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) ValuePoint and OMNIA Partners contracts. Every enterprise and Government AI initiative depends on data that is both secure and usable. Yet teams often face challenges on both fronts: production data contains sensitive information that cannot be exposed, while the data needed to build and test new systems may not exist yet. Tonic.ai closes this gap with AI-native synthetic data generation, de-identification and data subsetting, enabling teams to build, test and train AI systems without putting sensitive data at risk. The Tonic platform gives engineering and AI teams the data they need across a range of workloads. Tonic Fabricate generates referentially intact synthetic data from plain-language prompts, Tonic Structural transforms sensitive production data into safe, high-fidelity test data and Tonic Textual redacts and synthesizes unstructured data for secure AI development and external release. Together, these products provide developers with realistic data for development, testing and AI model and agent training while protecting sensitive information and preserving data privacy. For Public Sector organizations modernizing with AI, the partnership helps address a critical barrier. Agencies can adopt synthetic data to accelerate development and strengthen their security posture while safeguarding the sensitive information they are entrusted to protect. Through Carahsoft, organizations can access Tonic.ai's solutions through the contract vehicles they already rely on. "Enterprise AI initiatives often hit the same wall: the data either isn't safe to use, or there isn't any at all," said David Watson, Director, Partners and Alliances at Tonic.ai. "Tonic.ai is fundamentally changing the way organizations think about AI development and security through a synthetic data platform approach. By combining Tonic.ai's advanced synthetic data platform with our unique go-to-market partnership with Carahsoft, we're alleviating the challenges enterprises and Government agencies face to securely develop and deploy AI." "Tonic.ai empowers agencies with secure, on-demand access to data for development, testing, redaction and release workflows, without risking sensitive information," said Alec Wyhs, Sales Director overseeing the Tonic.ai Team at Carahsoft. "By providing safe, high-fidelity synthetic data, Tonic.ai enables agencies to accelerate AI and software innovation. Together with our reseller partners, Carahsoft and Tonic.ai are helping Public Sector organizations advance modernization initiatives and AI development while maintaining the safeguards needed for sensitive data." Tonic.ai's solutions are available through Carahsoft's SEWP V contracts NNG15SC03B and NNG15SC27B, ITES-SW2 Contract W52P1J-20-D-0042, NASPO ValuePoint Master Agreement #AR2472 and OMNIA Partners Contract #R240303. For more information, contact the Carahsoft Team at (703) 871-8593 or [email protected]. Learn more about Tonic.ai's solutions here. About Tonic.ai Tonic.ai is the synthetic data platform that gives engineering teams on-demand production-like data for every workload, so they can test software and train AI safely without risking sensitive data exposure. Founded in 2018, Tonic.ai is trusted by thousands of developers worldwide at companies like eBay, UnitedHealth Group, Qualcomm, Commonwealth Bank, and Mercor. Learn more at www.tonic.ai, or follow @tonicfakedata on X and /tonicfakedata on LinkedIn. About Carahsoft's AI Portfolio Carahsoft's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Portfolio includes leading and emerging technology vendors who are enabling Government agencies and systems integrators to harness the power of AI and ultimately meet mission needs; from creating efficiencies within agencies to bolstering national security and defense. Supported by dedicated AI product specialists and an extensive ecosystem of resellers, integrators and service providers, we help organizations identify the right technology for unique environments and provide access to technology solutions through our broad portfolio of contract vehicles. Our AI portfolio spans solutions for AI Infrastructure, Generative and Agentic AI, Autonomous Systems & Robotics and more. Learn more about Carahsoft's AI Solutions for Government here. About Carahsoft Carahsoft Technology Corp. is The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider, supporting Public Sector organizations across Federal, State and Local Government agencies and Education and Healthcare markets. As the Master Government Aggregator for our vendor partners, we deliver solutions for Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, MultiCloud, DevSecOps, Customer Experience and Engagement, Open Source and more. Working with resellers, systems integrators and consultants, our sales and marketing teams provide industry leading IT products, services and training through hundreds of contract vehicles. Visit us at www.carahsoft.com.

Google's $10M Spirit data deal sparks employee privacy concerns. Updated 2026/10/09 at 10:34 AM Google's proposed purchase of Spirit Airlines' internal records has sparked concerns about employee privacy and corporate data ownership. US lawmakers want stronger protections before the bankruptcy court approves the transaction. The dispute raises questions about companies selling workplace communications for artificial intelligence training. It also exposes gaps in privacy safeguards when businesses enter bankruptcy. US lawmakers demand employee privacy safeguards. More than 120 US lawmakers have challenged Google's $10 million offer for Spirit Airlines' internal data ahead of an October 14 hearing. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Steven Horsford led the effort alongside 119 other lawmakers in an October 8 letter. The proposed transaction reportedly covers approximately 100 million emails and 500 million Microsoft Teams messages. It also includes payroll records, tax documents, timecards, and employment contracts. Lawmakers warned that certain files could contain medical information and requests for disability accommodations. The concerns extend to nearly 1,000 Spirit employees who lost their jobs in Las Vegas. Horsford argued that employees provided their information for workplace purposes, not for another company's AI development. Consequently, lawmakers want Google to exclude sensitive employee records and confidential safety reports. They also seek enforceable restrictions governing future data use. Google told Reuters that it does not intend to purchase employees' personal information. The company said independent reviewers would exclude identifying records or remove personal identifiers. Google outbid AI recruitment company Mercor, which offered $7.5 million in August. Spirit excluded passenger databases covering 97 million customers and hired Tonic.ai to sanitize the remaining information. However, court-appointed privacy ombudsman Lucy Thomson focused her favorable review on passenger information rather than employee records. Federal bankruptcy rules require privacy reviews to consider potential risks and benefits for consumers. Those provisions do not offer employees equivalent protections. AI training demand raises questions about data ownership. Lawmakers also questioned whether removing names provides sufficient protection against identifying individual workers. Their letter warned that AI systems can combine scattered information to reconstruct identities from supposedly anonymous records. The National Institute of Standards and Technology has similarly highlighted re-identification risks associated with de-identified datasets. Privacy organization EPIC also challenged the proposed transaction, arguing that removing identifiers cannot guarantee confidentiality. Meanwhile, France's data protection regulator, CNIL, says GDPR protections may apply when AI systems can reveal identifiable personal information. The dispute comes as technology companies seek corporate datasets to support increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence systems. Grand View Research projects the AI training dataset market will grow from $3.9 billion in 2026 to $16.3 billion by 2033. That forecast represents annual growth of 22.6%. The broader debate also follows Meta's retreat from employee mouse and keystroke monitoring after workers challenged the proposal. Union leader Sara Nelson warned that Spirit's data sale could carry significant consequences for employees across different industries. The October 14 hearing will determine the transaction's immediate direction while testing how bankruptcy courts address workplace privacy and AI training.