Story (rebranded Data Network on June 25, 2026) is an EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain whose mainnet, named "Homer" (chain ID 1514), launched February 13, 2025. It was built by PIP Labs to bring intellectual property — characters, media, and licensing terms — on-chain with embedded attribution and royalty rules. Following the rebrand, the network repositions around auditing consent, licensing, and provenance for AI training data. Its native token, originally IP, migrated 1:1 to DATA on the rebrand date; native balances converted automatically with no holder action required.
Story's stated differentiator is a pivot from broad IP-tokenization toward a dedicated "audit layer" for AI training-data consent, licensing, and provenance, addressing demand that reportedly outpaced its original entertainment-focused thesis. This positioning is supported by an announced joint standard with OpenLedger for rights-cleared AI training with automatic creator payments, and a partnership with EigenCloud combining programmable provenance with verifiable execution. A consumer data-licensing app, Numo by Poseidon, entered early access built on the protocol. The DATA token captures this activity as the chain's required gas and staking asset.
IP (now DATA) is the chain's native asset — not an ERC-20 token — used simultaneously as a utility and staking token. Holders use it to pay transaction (gas) fees on the network and to stake it toward securing the chain via its validator set. It also carries governance weight: tokenholders use staking-weighted voting to decide on Story/Data Improvement Proposals (SIPs) covering protocol emissions, module updates, and treasury matters.
As of 2026-09-02, circulating supply is approximately 358.2 million DATA (formerly IP) tokens against a total supply of roughly 1.032 billion; the token has no maximum supply cap. Genesis design set total supply at 1 billion, allocated as Ecosystem & Community 38.4%, Early Investors 21.6%, Core Contributors 20%, Initial Incentives 10%, and Foundation 10%. Only 25% unlocked at mainnet launch; the remainder vests linearly over roughly 3 years for ecosystem allocations, or up to 4 years with a 12-month cliff for investors and core contributors. Total supply above the original 1 billion design indicates net-inflationary emission beyond initial issuance.
PIP Labs, the developer behind Story Protocol, was founded in June 2022, and launched the network's mainnet ("Homer") together with its IP token on February 13, 2025. This reflects a roughly 2.5-year gap between founding and on-chain launch. The token launched via genesis distribution rather than a public ICO/IDO, with 25% of the 1-billion-token supply unlocked at launch. PIP Labs raised a reported $140 million across three rounds: a ~$29.3M seed led by a16z crypto, a $54M Series A led by a16z, and an $80M Series B co-led by a16z and Polychain Capital at a $2.25 billion valuation (August 2024).
Story (renamed Data Network) operates as its own EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain rather than deploying on an existing chain. Its mainnet, "Homer" (chain ID 1514), launched February 13, 2025. The chain is secured by its own validator set, with the native IP/DATA token used for staking to participate in consensus. Because IP/DATA secures its own chain rather than functioning as a token on another network, no separate host-chain consensus mechanism applies.
Story Protocol was co-founded in June 2022 by Seung Yoon (S.Y.) Lee and Jason Zhao; some sources also credit a third co-founder, Jason Levy. Lee (CEO) studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford's Hertford College, served as Oxford Union President (2012-13), and previously founded Radish Fiction, sold to Kakao for a reported $440 million; he is also a venture partner at Hashed. Zhao previously worked at Google DeepMind.
Story Protocol is developed by PIP Labs, a privately held, venture-funded US Web3 company founded in June 2022 and valued at $2.25 billion at its August 2024 Series B round. On June 25, 2026, PIP Labs rebranded its organization as "DATA Foundation," repositioning the project around AI training-data provenance and licensing rather than its original broader intellectual-property thesis. It is not a public company and has no stock ticker or SEC filings.
Governance is split between a foundation (renamed DATA Foundation on June 25, 2026) and a tokenholder-run Story DAO. Per the DAO's published Constitution, tokenholders vote on Story/Data Improvement Proposals (SIPs) using a staking-weighted model, covering matters such as protocol emissions, module updates, treasury management, and grant-program administration ("Tokenholder Enumerated Powers"). The Foundation provides operational support and implements DAO-approved proposals. Law firm Walkers Global advised the Foundation on the governance token's strategic launch.
CertiK Skynet lists an aggregate score of approximately 90.6 out of 100 (AA rating) for the project and shows four third-party audits as available. CertiK itself has not audited the project directly. As of 2026-09-02, the token trades roughly 98.7% below its all-time high of $14.78, reached September 21, 2025, and a large share of genesis supply remains subject to scheduled unlocks continuing into 2028-2029, a structural dilution risk. A scheduled February 2026 unlock was delayed six months, to August 2026, citing supply-overhang concerns.