Sui commits $30 million to DATA as Story Protocol gives up its standalone chain

Sui Foundation and DATA Foundation said on Oct. 12 that Sui will invest $30 million in DATA Network, becoming its largest institutional holder, while PIP Labs and DATA Foundation will keep their existing stakes. The deal also sends DATA onto Sui as a native protocol and retires its standalone blockchain. The move marks another sharp turn for the project once known as Story Protocol, which was founded by SY Lee in 2022 and built by PIP Labs. Story started as an intellectual property blockchain, raised three rounds with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, and reached a $2.25 billion valuation in its August 2024 Series B. It later rebranded to DATA Foundation on June 25, 2026, shifting from programmable IP infrastructure to AI training data. Market reaction was immediate but brief. DATA rose from about $0.197 to $0.221 within two hours of the announcement, a gain of roughly 12%, while 24-hour trading volume expanded from around $10 million to more than $60 million. The token later slipped back to around $0.20. The announcement leaves several details undisclosed, including the form of Sui’s investment, the token source, and the purchase price. DATA will migrate to Sui on a 1:1 basis with unchanged total supply, while validators, staking, AMMs, and other contracts on the original chain will be phased out.