Sui Commits $30 Million as DATA Network Winds Down Blockchain

Sui Foundation has made an announcement of a $30 million (roughly Rs. 287 crore) investment in DATA Network on October 12, thus becoming its biggest institutional investor, as the AI training data protocol is going to switch to Sui and close its own blockchain. The deal was confirmed by Sui Foundation through an official announcement with DATA Foundation, which noted that the collaboration would integrate DATA Network and its Trace registry into the Sui blockchain network. The current DATA token would be migrated on a one-to-one basis, whereas Walrus would serve as the default storage system for applications run by DATA Foundation.

DATA Network Migration Will Preserve Existing Token Vesting Schedules

The two organisations claim that the current network will continue to work until the upgrade is done. A migration date has not been released yet, but both organisations are planning to release a timetable for token owners in the near future. The agreement will see the Sui Foundation become the largest institutional investor in the DATA Network after PIP Labs and DATA Foundation. This investment is part of a partnership aimed at bringing AI training data infrastructure to the Sui Network.

Data Network currently runs its own blockchain network where applications for sourcing, tracking, and licensing training data for AI systems can run. After the transition is complete, the DATA Network will be running on the Sui native blockchain.

This independent blockchain will be shut down, thereby eliminating the need for DATA Foundation to have its own network for the software it operates. From the joint statement, DATA tokens will migrate to Sui on a one-for-one basis. This implies that for each DATA token in existence, the owner will get one DATA token on the new network. 

According to the white papers, token holders will have economic and governance benefits that will be no less than what they currently have. The locked tokens and vesting schedules will remain the same with the new plan.

However, the organizations have not disclosed the investment's valuation, how many tokens are held by the Sui Foundation, and the financial terms of the deal. It was not specified in the announcement whether all $30 million (roughly Rs. 287 crore) had already been moved. Sui Foundation and DATA Foundation stated that they will provide more details about the holder transfer prior to migration.

On the other hand, SY Lee, who is the chairman of Poseidon and CEO of PIP Labs, will serve as a strategic advisor to Sui Foundation. Previously, he played a key role in the development of Story Protocol, which was later renamed DATA Network. Lee's advisory appointment was announced alongside the investment and technical partnership. 

Migration to the DATA Network is scheduled to follow a significant shift in the project's business strategy this year. In June 2026, Story Protocol became known as DATA Foundation, with its strategy shifting from general intellectual property licensing to AI training data. This shift entailed renaming the original IP token to DATA, along with developing a network to handle data ownership, licensing, and payments.

As per a previous announcement, the project faced difficulties in recruiting some large intellectual property holders, as they wanted stricter control over their data. As a result, DATA Foundation decided to focus on infrastructure for sourcing and validating data that would be used to train AI models.