DATA Network to Migrate to Sui With $30 Million Foundation Investment

DATA Network, previously known as Story, plans to shut down its independent blockchain and migrate its AI training data infrastructure to the Sui ecosystem under a partnership supported by a $30 million investment from Sui Foundation.

As part of the transition, Trace, DATA's registry for tracking the origin and licensing rights of AI training data, will move to Sui. Walrus, a decentralized storage platform within the ecosystem, will become the default storage solution for applications operated by DATA Foundation.

The project said maintaining a dedicated blockchain for a single purpose created additional costs associated with validators, network security and infrastructure. Moving to Sui will allow DATA to use existing technology rather than build and maintain similar systems independently.

The DATA Foundation spokesperson explained that developing storage and access-control infrastructure at the required scale would have meant recreating capabilities already available through Walrus and Seal, Sui's access-control technology.

The migration follows a broader shift in the project's strategy. In June, Story Foundation rebranded as DATA Foundation and moved away from its earlier focus on intellectual property licensing toward building a comprehensive infrastructure platform for AI training data.

The foundation also introduced Trace to help record where training data originates and establish its associated licensing rights. The registry has accumulated more than 270 million registrations in roughly four months, according to the project.

This growth has contributed to the decision to move away from operating a separate blockchain. The foundation believes that integrating with Sui will provide access to existing infrastructure as its AI data ecosystem expands.

The $30 million investment from Sui Foundation is part of the broader partnership, but DATA Foundation clarified that the funding was separate from the decision to migrate its network.

DATA Network will remain operational while the transition is prepared and will continue running until the upgrade is complete. The project said it would publish a detailed migration schedule and a plan for existing token holders before the upgrade takes place.

The move marks a shift in DATA's infrastructure strategy, with the project opting to build its AI data services on an established blockchain ecosystem rather than continue maintaining its own network.