Sui Foundation commits $30 million to DATA Network migration
Sui Foundation will invest $30 million in DATA Network as its AI training-data protocol moves to Sui, retiring its chain and migrating its token one-for-one.
The Blocktape Editors 2 min read 17773d
Sui Foundation said on October 12 it will invest $30 million in DATA Network as the AI training-data protocol moves to Sui and retires its independent chain. The Sui Foundation announcement said the investment will make it the network’s largest institutional holder, alongside PIP Labs and DATA Foundation.
The deal also brings Trace, DATA Foundation’s onchain registry for AI training data, and its applications into the Sui stack. The Block’s report said Walrus, Sui’s onchain data storage platform, will become the default storage layer for DATA Foundation applications.
How will DATA Network and its token move to Sui?
DATA Network will run as a protocol natively on Sui, while its current chain will continue operating until the upgrade is complete, according to Sui Foundation. The $DATA token will transfer to Sui one-for-one, with holder economics and governance rights at least equivalent to current terms; locked and vesting positions will carry over unchanged.
Sui Foundation said a detailed timeline and holder transition plan will be published before the upgrade. It did not give a completion date in its announcement.
What does Trace record for AI data?
Trace records the origin of AI training-data contributions and the rights attached to them, and settles payment to contributors, according to DATA Foundation. Sui Foundation said Trace has registered more than 250 million contributions since its June launch and processes more than 3 million receipts per day on average.
Applications using Trace include Kled, Numo and Oto, which license data to AI labs and robotics companies, according to the announcement. On the new setup, Walrus will store encrypted copies of source files, while Trace will record their provenance; the files will be access-controlled for licensed buyers.
When will the existing chain shut down?
The independent DATA Network chain will be retired after the upgrade, but it remains operational until then, Sui Foundation said. The foundation said it will publish the transition timeline and holder plan before the upgrade begins.
Source material
- Sui Foundation announcement — sui.io
- The Block’s report — theblock.co