Nous Research confirms it hit $1.5B valuation, launches AI agents for business users
Quick Answer
Nous Research has achieved a $1.5 billion valuation after raising $90 million in Series B funding, led by Robot Ventures.
Quick Take
The company aims to enhance enterprise AI solutions with its open-source Hermes Agent, which has been cloned over 24 million times and is expected to generate over $100 million in revenue by the end of 2026.
Key Points
- Nous Research raised $90 million in Series B funding, totaling $158 million to date.
- The open-source Hermes Agent drives approximately 2.5% of global AI token usage.
- The new funding will support 'Hermes for Businesses' for customized enterprise AI agents.
- Nous expects to exceed $100 million in annual revenue by the end of 2026.
- Investors include Nvidia, Samsung, and Union Square Ventures.
📖 Reader Mode
~1 min readIn Brief
Posted:
Nous Research, the startup developing the open source Hermes Agent, has raised a $90 million Series B at a $1.5 billion valuation, confirming TechCrunch’s earlier reporting.
The round was led by Robot Ventures, with participation from other backers including Nvidia, Union Square Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Samsung, and 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner. The new financing brings the three-year-old startup’s total funding to $158 million.
Popular among developers and individuals, the open source Hermes Agent has been cloned more than 24 million times, driving roughly 2.5% of global AI token usage, according to the startup’s estimates.
The capital will fund Nous Research’s push into the enterprise sector with “Hermes for Businesses,” allowing companies to deploy customized AI agents that can handle multi-step workflows while keeping their data private and secure.
Nous was at roughly $36 million in annualized revenue by mid-September 2026 and expects to pass $100 million before the end of 2026, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Topics
Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news
Latest in AI
— Originally published at techcrunch.com
Want this in your inbox every morning?
Daily brief at your local 8am — bilingual EN/中文, free.
More from TechCrunch
See more →
AI chip startup Etched defies skeptics, hits $10.3B valuation from big-name investors
AI chip startup Etched has achieved a $10.3 billion valuation after a $300 million Series C funding round, led by Sequoia and supported by notable investors like Andreessen Horowitz. The company claims to have developed innovative low-voltage chips for AI inference, significantly enhancing performance and reducing costs, with $1 billion in orders already booked.
