Nous Research, the developer of the open-source Hermes Agent, raised $90 million in a Series B round at a $1.5 billion valuation. The round was led by Robot Ventures, with participation from Nvidia, Union Square Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Samsung, and 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner. The three-year-old startup’s total funding has reached $158 million. Popular among developers, Hermes Agent has been copied more than 24 million times; according to the company’s estimate, it accounts for approximately 2.5% of global AI token usage. The capital will finance the plan to expand into the enterprise market with “Hermes for Businesses,” which allows companies to build agents that can manage multi-step workflows while keeping their data private. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company reached approximately $36 million in annual revenue in September 2026; it is expected to exceed $100 million before the end of 2026.
Why it matters
This investment shows that startups developing open-source AI are no longer the focus of only developer communities, but of big capital as well. The presence among the round’s participants of chip and consumer electronics giants, alongside a fund close to politics, demonstrates that AI investments have turned into an area of interest beyond the technology world. Its measurable share of global token usage is a sign that open-source models are not remaining marginal against their closed rivals. The company’s real test, however, begins now: whether a free tool copied millions of times will convert into paying enterprise customers. The promise of building agents while preserving data privacy coincides with the search for alternatives by companies that do not want to expose their sensitive data; whether the gap between the revenue target and the valuation will close remains an open question.
Background
Research is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published 3 news items mentioning this name in the last 90 days; the most recent one is dated September 12, 2026.