a16z Crypto increases investment in the Story ecosystem, leading a $15 million round in the decentralized Data Layer Poseidon to break through AI data bottlenecks.

The decentralized AI data infrastructure project Poseidon, incubated by the on-chain IP protocol Story, announced today the completion of a $15 million seed round financing, led by a16z crypto. The funds from this round will be used to accelerate the construction of a full-stack data infrastructure layer aimed at Bots, multimodal models, and next-generation physical AI, to break through the most critical yet overlooked bottleneck in the current development of AI: high-quality, IP-secure, traceable data acquisition.

"In today's world where models and computing power are gradually being commoditized, the real competitive barrier is data." ——Sandeep Chinchali, Chief AI Officer of Story and Chief Scientist of Poseidon The mission of Poseidon is to extend the programmable IP layer built by Story into real-world data and AI training scenarios. Story aims to create an underlying protocol that supports the programmable ownership, licensing, and attribution of creative and AI assets, while Poseidon further utilizes these capabilities to support the data flow and compliant use of AI.

AI moves from digital to physical, data bottlenecks intensify

In the past two years, AI has made significant breakthroughs in the fields of text and images. However, as AI extends into physical world scenarios such as Bots, autonomous driving, and smart devices, the demand for real-world data has surged.

However, the existing data collection model faces three major structural challenges:

1. Scarcity of Long Tail Data: The collection cost of high-value data (such as POV videos, 3D simulations, edge sensors) is high and the sources are dispersed.
2. Licensing and Compliance Risks: Traditional data chains are complex and copyright is unclear, making it difficult for companies to securely access.
3. Lack of Incentive Mechanism: Data contributors lack ownership protection and profit distribution, which leads to a lack of willingness to participate.

As Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth said: "No amount of content on the internet can replicate the intuitive judgment people make when they pick up a coffee cup." The next generation of AI models not only needs to "see the world" but also to "understand and act in the world."

Poseidon: The Data Operating System Built for AI

To address the aforementioned challenges, Poseidon provides a comprehensive operating system that covers collection, labeling, licensing, circulation, traceability, and incentives, transforming data from "resources" into "assets" that possess legal validity and economic incentive mechanisms.

Story CEO and co-founder, Poseidon President S.Y. Lee stated, "With Story's programmable IP layer and immutable IP registration system, we ensure that every dataset is IP licensed, traceable, and executable. Combined with our integrated licensing module, the team can seamlessly complete data authorization, monetization, and usage without worrying about legal risks. This is not just infrastructure development; it is about empowering AI systems that can truly be deployed in the real world."

Poseidon is a data operating system designed for AI training processes, from collection to annotation, from licensing to circulation, each link inherently possesses IP traceability and programmable incentive capabilities. Its core capabilities include:

• Full-stack data pipeline: Supports standardized collection and cleaning of multi-source data (POV video, sensors, voice, synthetic simulation)
• On-chain IP Registration and Traceability: All data is registered in the form of IP assets on the Story Protocol, ensuring clear origin and legal authorization.
• Incentive and Permission Module: Contributors, annotators, and synthetic models can earn revenue distribution through smart contracts, achieving sustainable growth of the data network.
• Composable Data Market: Developers can filter, call, and integrate data based on licenses, automatically triggering permissions and revenue sharing, reducing copyright risks.

Poseidon provides a truly compliant, composable, and sustainable data network for AI model training, becoming an important infrastructure for AI to shift from model-driven to data-driven.

Building the Data Economy Foundation in the AI Era

"The AI foundation model has exhausted the most easily accessible training data. Poseidon's decentralized data layer is attempting to establish a new economic foundation for the internet, rewarding creators and data providers who offer diverse inputs for the next generation of intelligent systems. We are excited to support Poseidon in addressing one of the most critical bottlenecks in AI development."

——Chris Dixon, founder and managing partner of a16z crypto

Poseidon has partnered with several leading AI companies and will use this round of financing to expand its technology stack, including SDK toolkits, data contributor workstations, licensing and revenue sharing management modules. The early access channel will open this summer, initiating registration for AI developers and data contributors.

About Poseidon

Poseidon is a decentralized full-stack data layer tailored for AI training processes. Incubated by the Story Protocol team, it aims to connect high-quality data supply with AI model demand. The platform supports the entire on-chain process from data contribution, authorization, and verification to integration, ensuring that the data possesses security, compliance, and economic incentive mechanisms.

Visit the official website for more information: www.poseidonai.io