How a16z-backed DATA is rethinking its blockchain strategy after $30 million Sui deal
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Updated Oct 21, 2026, 11:24 a.m. EDTPublished Oct 21, 2026, 11:22 a.m. EDT4 min readDATA CEO Andrea Muttoni (Source: DATA)SummaryDATA shifted from its broad intellectual property ambitions to AI training data after finding that established licensing markets were difficult to disrupt, CEO Andrea Muttoni told CoinDesk. The startup is moving to Sui following a $30 million investment from Sui Foundation, allowing the company to focus on its data verification tools rather than maintaining its own blockchain. DATA's Trace registry tracks the origins, consent terms and licensing history of AI training data, with partner Kled adding millions of contributions each day. DATA, the blockchain startup backed by Andreessen Horowitz's a16z crypto and formerly known as Story Protocol, is shutting down its blockchain and moving to Sui after securing a $30 million investment from the network's foundation. The move comes after spending years trying to bring intellectual property onchain. But after raising $140 million and building its own blockchain, the company found that changing how the world's intellectual property is licensed was harder than expected.
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