Sui Foundation Backs DATA Network’s Migration to Scale Rights‑Cleared AI Training Data

The Sui Foundation has announced a strategic investment of $30 million in DATA Network, which will support a full migration of DATA’s Trace protocol onto the Sui blockchain, with Walrus serving as its default storage layer.

The infusion, disclosed on October 18, 2026, marks the largest crypto-focused funding round of the week, according to CoinMarketCap, and positions DATA Network to scale its infrastructure for AI training data with built‑in provenance and consent mechanisms ([coinmarketcap.com](https://coinmarketcap.com/cmc-ai/data-network/latest-updates/?utm_source=openai)). The Trace registry, home to over 250 million verifiable receipts for AI data contributions, will move from its independent chain to become native within Sui’s infrastructure stack ([coinmarketcap.com](https://coinmarketcap.com/cmc-ai/data-network/latest-updates/?utm_source=openai)).

The integration brings together three key parties: the Sui Foundation, DATA Network (formerly Story Foundation), and Walrus. Trace’s registry ensures data contributors receive attribution and verification, while Sui offers a high-throughput, agentic-capable Layer‑1 environment, and Walrus provides integrity-anchored data storage ([decrypt.co](https://decrypt.co/380660/data-network-joins-sui-and-walrus-to-scale-the-supply%E2%80%A6?utm_source=openai)).

SY Lee, Chairman of Poseidon and CEO of PIP Labs, emphasized the industry imperative: “The next generation of AI will be trained on data that lives with people rather than on the open web, and that data needs consent and provenance built in” ([decrypt.co](https://decrypt.co/380660/data-network-joins-sui-and-walrus-to-scale-the-supply%E2%80%A6?utm_source=openai)). That framing underscores the broader trend toward verifiable, rights-respecting data pipelines in AI development.

Additionally, CoinMarketCap reports that Grayscale is launching a private placement vehicle—the Grayscale Data Network Trust—on the Republic platform, allowing accredited U.S. investors to gain exposure to the DATA token with a lower minimum investment of $2,500 ([coinmarketcap.com](https://coinmarketcap.com/cmc-ai/data-network/latest-updates/?utm_source=openai)). This regulatory-aligned offering adds a layer of institutional accessibility to the narrative.

This development follows earlier 2026 investments and positioning of DATA Network as a foundational layer for AI training data. Its alignment with Sui’s infrastructure marks a turning point—from a standalone AI-data registry toward a scalable, modular infrastructure component within a live blockchain stack optimized for agentic AI workloads.

As the integration progresses, key next steps for market participants include tracking developer adoption of Trace on Sui, the technical execution of the migration, and institutional uptake via the Grayscale trust. Should these move smoothly, the deal could represent a model for blending AI provenance infrastructure with Web3 scalability.