Nous Research raises $90M at $1.5B valuation

TechCrunch reports that Nous Research, the developer of the open-source Hermes Agent, has closed a $90 million Series B round at a $1.5 billion valuation. This financing confirms earlier reporting by the outlet and marks a significant milestone for the three-year-old startup, bringing its total funding to $158 million.

The capital injection is explicitly earmarked for expanding into the enterprise sector. Nous Research plans to launch "Hermes for Businesses," a product line designed to allow companies to deploy customized AI agents that handle multi-step workflows while maintaining data privacy and security. This shift represents a strategic move from a developer-focused open-source tool to a commercial enterprise solution.

The details

The Series B round was led by Robot Ventures, with participation from a diverse group of backers including Nvidia, Union Square Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Samsung, and 1789 Capital. Notably, 1789 Capital is a firm where Donald Trump Jr. serves as a partner.

The commercial traction behind this valuation is driven by the popularity of the open-source Hermes Agent. According to the startup’s estimates, the agent has been cloned more than 24 million times. This widespread adoption has resulted in the tool driving roughly 2.5% of global AI token usage, a metric that highlights the sheer volume of compute resources being allocated to Nous-based models.

Financial performance is also underpinning the high valuation. The Wall Street Journal reported that Nous Research reached approximately $36 million in annualized revenue by mid-September 2026. The company expects to surpass $100 million in annualized revenue before the end of 2026, indicating rapid growth in its commercial operations.

Context

Nous Research has established itself as a key player in the open-source AI ecosystem, particularly in the space of autonomous agents. The Hermes Agent has become a standard choice for developers seeking transparent, modifiable AI tools that can execute complex tasks. The startup’s ability to convert this developer mindshare into enterprise revenue is a critical test for the broader open-source AI business model.

The involvement of Nvidia in the funding round is particularly significant. As a primary supplier of the hardware required to train and run large language models, Nvidia’s investment signals confidence in the scalability of Nous’s infrastructure and the demand for its agent frameworks. The participation of Samsung and Union Square Ventures further underscores the broad appeal of the company’s technology across hardware, software, and venture capital sectors.

What it means for developers

For developers currently using the open-source Hermes Agent, the immediate impact is likely to be minimal in terms of core functionality, as the open-source version remains the primary interface for individual users and small teams. However, the new "Hermes for Businesses" offering suggests that Nous is investing heavily in enterprise-grade features such as enhanced security, compliance, and multi-tenant support.

Developers working in regulated industries or large enterprises should watch for the release of these enterprise features, which may include advanced audit logging, data residency options, and integration with existing enterprise security stacks. The high token usage statistics also imply that Nous is optimizing for efficiency, which could translate to lower inference costs for users running large-scale agent workflows.

What to watch

• Enterprise Launch: The specific release date and feature set of "Hermes for Businesses" will determine how successfully Nous can convert its developer base into enterprise clients.
• Revenue Targets: Whether the company actually hits its $100 million annualized revenue target by the end of 2026 will be a key indicator of its commercial viability beyond the open-source community.
• Competitive Landscape: How other open-source AI startups respond to Nous’s enterprise push, particularly in terms of pricing and feature differentiation, will shape the market for commercial AI agents.
• Hardware Partnerships: The depth of the partnership with Nvidia, including potential co-developed optimizations for Hermes models, could provide a significant performance advantage over competitors using standard hardware configurations.