Market & RegulationInvestment · $90M
Nous Research raises $90M at $1.5B valuation for AI agents
TechCrunch AIhigh confidence
Why it matters
- →Nous Research validates the enterprise agent market with a $1.5B valuation, signaling strong investor confidence in B2B AI automation.
- →Nvidia's participation underscores the strategic importance of open-source models as infrastructure for proprietary agent workflows.
- →The startup's rapid revenue growth ($36M ARR) demonstrates viable monetization paths for open-source AI companies beyond community goodwill.
Nous Research has closed a $90 million Series B funding round at a $1.5 billion valuation, led by Robot Ventures with participation from Nvidia and Union Square Ventures. The three-year-old startup plans to use the capital to expand its 'Hermes for Businesses' offering, focusing on private, multi-step AI agent deployments for enterprise clients. Founded in 2023, Nous has seen rapid growth, with its open-source Hermes Agent cloned over 24 million times and generating approximately 2.5% of global AI token usage. The company reported $36 million in annualized revenue as of mid-September 2026 and projects to exceed $100 million before year-end.
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Earlier coverage that leads up to this article, and what followed. Lines connect each piece to the closest one after it, converging here.
How we got here
- 1Conduct raises $60M for AI operating system
Sifted · June 17, 2026 · Background
- 2Prime Intellect raises $130M to empower AI agents
TechCrunch AI · July 8, 2026 · Related
- 3Nous Research Secures $75 Million Funding
Lev Selector · July 17, 2026 · Same story
- 4Index Ventures raises $2B to invest in AI
Sifted · August 3, 2026 · Background
- 5Instinct Raises $250M for AI Assistants
Crunchbase News · August 28, 2026 · Related
- 6Cognition Secures Valuation at $48 Billion
The AI Daily Brief · September 10, 2026 · Background
- 7Manus raises $500M at $4B valuation post-Meta split
TechCrunch AI · September 18, 2026 · Related
- 8Instinct AI raises $1B on agent hype
WIRED AI · September 24, 2026 · Related
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