Key Takeaways
- • DATA (formerly Story Protocol), backed by a16z crypto, is shutting down its own layer-1 blockchain and migrating to Sui after receiving a $30 million investment from the Sui Foundation, according to CoinDesk.
- • The company narrowed its focus from broad intellectual property licensing to AI training data provenance after CEO Andrea Muttoni concluded that established licensing markets were difficult to disrupt; the company had raised $140 million in total funding.
- • The core product, Trace, is a registry that records the origin, contributor consent terms and licensing history of AI training data, with partner marketplace Kled adding 3 million to 4 million contributions per day.
- • The Sui Foundation becomes DATA Network's largest institutional holder, and the $DATA token will move to Sui on a one-to-one basis with holder rights and vesting schedules unchanged.
- • DATA did not disclose how many registered records have generated licensing revenue, and Muttoni estimates the AI training data market could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Summary
DATA, the blockchain startup formerly known as Story Protocol and backed by Andreessen Horowitz's a16z crypto, is shutting down its blockchain and moving to Sui following a $30 million investment from the Sui Foundation, CoinDesk reported on October 21, 2026. The company had raised $140 million and built its own chain after launching in 2022 with a plan to bring intellectual property from music royalties to patents and trademarks onchain. CEO Andrea Muttoni told CoinDesk the company found those industries already had entrenched licensing systems, and large rights holders showed little interest in permissionless licensing. "We were trying to boil the ocean, and it was a very saturated and entrenched ocean," he said.
The company rebranded to DATA Foundation in June, shifting toward the AI training data market, and is now narrowing its focus further to tracking the origins and usage rights of data used to train AI models. Muttoni said the team questioned whether running an entire layer-1, with its associated costs for engineers, validators, audits and infrastructure, still made sense given that most of its work centered on Trace. The company's experience with Poseidon, an AI data company incubated by the Story team, informed the pivot; Muttoni said buyers often could not verify whether datasets were original, properly licensed or exclusive, and in one case vendors offered datasets already available from other sellers.
Trace creates a receipt for files uploaded through participating data marketplaces, recording submission time, contributor terms and later licensing or payment events. Kled, a marketplace that pays people to contribute data, accounts for much of the activity, with Muttoni saying the platform adds 3 million to 4 million contributions daily. DATA did not disclose how many records have generated licensing revenue. Muttoni said the near-term goal is to serve as infrastructure for auditability and provenance rather than compete with data marketplaces, though he did not rule out eventually operating a marketplace.
On Sui, DATA gains access to Walrus, a decentralized storage platform that could hold copies of registered originals so buyers can compare received files against submissions, and Seal, which can encrypt files and restrict access. Sui Foundation will become DATA Network's largest institutional holder, and Muttoni said Sui is taking a hands-off approach to product decisions. Financial details beyond the $30 million were not disclosed. Per a company press release, the $DATA token will migrate one-to-one, with the current chain remaining operational until migration completes. Muttoni did not disclose how much of the original $140 million remains, but said existing investors, including a16z crypto, remain involved.
The company rebranded to DATA Foundation in June, shifting toward the AI training data market, and is now narrowing its focus further to tracking the origins and usage rights of data used to train AI models. Muttoni said the team questioned whether running an entire layer-1, with its associated costs for engineers, validators, audits and infrastructure, still made sense given that most of its work centered on Trace. The company's experience with Poseidon, an AI data company incubated by the Story team, informed the pivot; Muttoni said buyers often could not verify whether datasets were original, properly licensed or exclusive, and in one case vendors offered datasets already available from other sellers.
Trace creates a receipt for files uploaded through participating data marketplaces, recording submission time, contributor terms and later licensing or payment events. Kled, a marketplace that pays people to contribute data, accounts for much of the activity, with Muttoni saying the platform adds 3 million to 4 million contributions daily. DATA did not disclose how many records have generated licensing revenue. Muttoni said the near-term goal is to serve as infrastructure for auditability and provenance rather than compete with data marketplaces, though he did not rule out eventually operating a marketplace.
On Sui, DATA gains access to Walrus, a decentralized storage platform that could hold copies of registered originals so buyers can compare received files against submissions, and Seal, which can encrypt files and restrict access. Sui Foundation will become DATA Network's largest institutional holder, and Muttoni said Sui is taking a hands-off approach to product decisions. Financial details beyond the $30 million were not disclosed. Per a company press release, the $DATA token will migrate one-to-one, with the current chain remaining operational until migration completes. Muttoni did not disclose how much of the original $140 million remains, but said existing investors, including a16z crypto, remain involved.
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