Sui Foundation Invests $30M in DATA Network as It Moves to Sui post-167040 post-167040 post-167040

• Sui Foundation is investing $30 million in DATA Network and will become its largest institutional holder.
• DATA Network plans to retire its independent blockchain and migrate DATA tokens at a 1:1 ratio.
• Trace has registered over 250 million contributions, while Walrus will serve as the default storage layer for DATA Foundation applications.

The Sui Foundation is investing $30 million in DATA Network as the AI data protocol prepares to move to the Sui blockchain and retire its independent network. The investment will make Sui Foundation DATA Network’s largest institutional holder, according to an announcement on October 12, 2026.

The partnership also brings DATA Network’s Trace registry into Sui’s ecosystem, with Walrus set to become the default storage layer for applications operated by DATA Foundation. The move aims to connect AI developers with data whose origins and usage rights can be checked before it is used to train models.

DATA Network focuses on tracking real-world data contributions and the rights attached to them. Its Trace registry, launched in June 2026, records where data comes from and supports payments to contributors. DATA Foundation said Trace has registered more than 250 million contributions and processes over three million receipts per day on average.

DATA Token to Migrate at a 1:1 Ratio

Under the plan, DATA Network will run as a protocol on Sui, while its standalone blockchain will be retired after the transition. Existing DATA tokens are expected to migrate to Sui on a one-to-one basis. The announced terms also say holders’ economic and governance rights will remain at least equivalent to their current rights, while existing lockups and vesting schedules will carry over.

The migration has not yet been completed. DATA Network will continue operating until the upgrade is finished, and the foundations said they will publish a detailed timeline and token-holder transition plan beforehand.

Walrus will provide storage for the original data files, including encrypted copies with controlled access. Combined with Trace’s records, this is intended to let AI labs check a dataset against its registered source rather than rely only on information supplied when the record was created.

Sui Foundation’s investment is part of the wider strategic partnership. The announcement did not disclose a detailed breakdown of the investment or provide a date for the migration.

DATA Foundation, previously known as Story Foundation, shifted its focus toward AI training data in June. The integration brings its data registry and related applications into Sui’s infrastructure as demand grows for datasets with documented origins and permissions.