The Sui Foundation is investing $30 million in DATA Network as part of a strategic partnership to develop blockchain-based infrastructure for artificial intelligence (AI) training data. Under the agreement, DATA Network will migrate to the Sui blockchain, while its existing standalone blockchain will gradually be phased out.

According to The Block on October 11, the investment will make the Sui Foundation the largest holder of DATA tokens, alongside existing stakeholders PIP Labs and the DATA Foundation.

As part of the partnership, DATA Network will be integrated into the Sui ecosystem, while Walrus, Sui’s decentralized storage protocol, will become the default storage layer for applications operated by the DATA Foundation. The collaboration aims to provide AI research laboratories with access to real-world data that has verifiable provenance and clearly established usage rights.

A central component of the partnership is Trace, DATA Network’s on-chain registry for AI training data, launched in June 2026. Trace records data provenance and usage rights while supporting payments to data contributors. According to the DATA Foundation, the system has recorded more than 250 million contributions since launch and processes an average of over 3 million receipts per day.

Integrating Walrus is expected to strengthen the system’s ability to verify data provenance. In addition to recording registration information, the infrastructure can store encrypted references to original datasets, helping verify data integrity and audit subsequent processing. Such capabilities could become increasingly important as AI companies face growing pressure to demonstrate that their training data is lawfully sourced and properly licensed.

Under the proposed token migration, existing DATA tokens are expected to transition to the Sui ecosystem at a 1:1 ratio. DATA Network’s standalone blockchain will be decommissioned only after the migration is completed. The project said it would publish a detailed upgrade roadmap and migration plan before implementation, while the existing network continues operating in the meantime.

Adeniyi Abiodun, co-founder and chief product officer of Mysten Labs, an early contributor to Sui, said the AI industry is entering a phase in which high-quality datasets with verifiable provenance and usage rights are becoming increasingly important, rather than relying solely on publicly available internet data.

The deal comes as demand for AI training data continues to grow, particularly for datasets supported by contributor consent and verifiable provenance records. If successfully implemented, the integration of DATA Network and Walrus could expand Sui’s role beyond a Layer 1 blockchain into infrastructure for AI applications and on-chain data management.

However, the partnership’s long-term impact will depend on migration execution, the ability to attract additional AI customers, and actual adoption of Sui-based infrastructure. The $30 million investment alone does not guarantee a corresponding increase in demand for either SUI or DATA tokens.