DATA Network Migrates to Sui with $30 Million Support from Sui Foundation

The DATA Network, previously known as Story Protocol, is set to retire its independent blockchain and migrate to the Sui ecosystem, supported by a significant $30 million investment from the Sui Foundation. This strategic move was announced during a Sui ecosystem event on October 8, 2026, by Eman Abio, a co-founder of Sui.

The transition will see DATA's operations integrated into Sui, allowing it to leverage the infrastructure designed for AI workloads. As part of this upgrade, the Walrus Protocol will serve as the default storage layer for applications operated by the DATA Foundation, ensuring efficient management of rights-cleared AI training data.

Since its launch, the DATA Network has recorded over 250 million on-chain data registrations, focusing on data provenance, licensing, and auditing through its Trace tool. This tool is designed to track the origin and rights of data contributions, which is increasingly crucial in the evolving landscape of AI data requirements.

The migration is particularly timely as AI developers face growing regulatory demands for verifiable and consented datasets. The integration with Sui and Walrus aims to provide a comprehensive solution for sourcing real-world training data, ensuring that it is both accessible and compliant with legal standards.

As the DATA Network transitions to Sui, existing token holders will see their DATA tokens carried over on a 1:1 basis, maintaining their governance rights and economic positions. A detailed transition plan for token holders will be released before the upgrade is finalized.