Nous Research Confirms It Hit $1.5B Valuation, Launches AI Agents For Business Users
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Nous Research confirmed a $90 million Series B that values the startup at $1.5 billion, with Robot Ventures leading and Nvidia and other investors participating. The company plans to use the funding to bring its open-source Hermes Agent into businesses through a service for customized AI agents; details of the offering and its security arrangements remain limited.

Nous Research confirmed on October 7 that it raised $90 million in a Series B at a $1.5 billion valuation, and said it is taking its Hermes Agent into the enterprise market with a product called Hermes for Businesses. The financing, led by Robot Ventures, gives the three-year-old AI startup additional capital to develop customized agents for companies.

The round included participation from Nvidia, Union Square Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Samsung and 1789 Capital, among other backers. Donald Trump Jr. is a partner at 1789 Capital, according to the report. The new funding brings Nous Research’s total financing to $158 million. The company’s announcement confirms an earlier report by TechCrunch.

Nous said Hermes for Businesses will let companies deploy customized AI agents capable of handling multi-step workflows while keeping company data private and secure. Those privacy and security points are the company’s description of the planned offering; the available report does not provide technical details, product specifications or independent validation.

Nous’s open-source Hermes Agent has been cloned more than 24 million times, according to the report. The startup estimates the agent accounts for roughly 2.5% of global AI token usage. That figure is a company estimate, rather than an independently verified measurement. The report also says Nous had about $36 million in annualized revenue by mid-September and expects to exceed $100 million before the end of 2026, citing The Wall Street Journal.

At a glance
announcementWhen: Announced October 7, 2026
The developmentNous Research confirmed its $1.5 billion valuation after raising $90 million and announced a business-focused AI agent offering.

From Open-Source Agent to Enterprise

The financing marks a bid by Nous Research to turn developer and individual interest in open-source Hermes into business adoption. Enterprise customers often need agents to work across multi-step tasks and handle company information under their own controls. Nous is presenting customization and data privacy as central features of its business product, positioning the offering for organizations that may be reluctant to use general-purpose services.

The move also puts the startup’s valuation and revenue ambitions alongside a product expansion that still needs to prove itself in practice. The reported cloning count and token-usage estimate suggest reach among users, but do not establish how many companies will pay for the product, how reliably agents will complete workflows, or whether the business offering can meet enterprise security requirements.

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Hermes Builds on Open-Source Adoption

Nous Research is a three-year-old startup developing Hermes Agent, an open-source AI agent that has attracted attention among developers and individual users. The company’s strategy now includes a dedicated business product rather than relying only on the open-source project’s existing audience. The Series B adds to prior funding and takes the company’s reported total to $158 million.

The financial figures describe different measures and time periods. The $1.5 billion valuation is tied to the new financing round, while the revenue figures reported by The Wall Street Journal refer to annualized revenue around mid-September and a company expectation for year-end. The forecast is not a reported final result: the source says Nous expected to pass $100 million before the end of 2026.

“Hermes for Businesses will allow companies to deploy customized AI agents that can handle multi-step workflows while keeping their data private and secure.”

— Nous Research, as described in the report

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Product Details and Revenue Outlook

The report does not specify when Hermes for Businesses will be available, how it will be priced, which systems it can connect to, or what deployment and data-control options companies will receive. It also provides no independent assessment of the product’s security, privacy protections or performance on multi-step workflows. These details will matter to organizations evaluating whether the agents can be used with sensitive business data.

The reported 2.5% share of global AI token usage is attributed to Nous’s estimate, and the report does not explain its methodology or comparison period. The revenue outlook is also uncertain: the approximately $36 million annualized figure was reported for mid-September, while surpassing $100 million by year-end was an expectation. The source does not give a final revenue result or explain the assumptions behind that forecast.

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Business Launch and Adoption

The next signals to watch are the release of Hermes for Businesses, further details about its enterprise controls and pricing, and whether companies begin deploying it for production workflows. Nous’s use of the new capital will also show how quickly it intends to build out the enterprise product and supporting services.

Investors and prospective customers will be able to assess the company’s revenue trajectory against its stated expectation for the end of 2026. Until Nous provides product specifications or operating results, the announcement establishes the funding and strategic direction, but not the offering’s commercial performance or enterprise readiness.

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Key Questions

How much did Nous Research raise?

Nous Research raised $90 million in a Series B. The round brings its reported total funding to $158 million.

What is Nous Research’s valuation?

The company confirmed a $1.5 billion valuation associated with the Series B.

What is Hermes for Businesses?

It is Nous Research’s planned business offering for deploying customized AI agents that can handle multi-step workflows. The company says the service is designed to keep business data private and secure, but detailed product and security information was not provided in the report.

Who participated in the funding round?

Robot Ventures led the round. Participants included Nvidia, Union Square Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Samsung and 1789 Capital, among other backers.

Are Nous Research’s revenue figures confirmed results?

The report says Nous had about $36 million in annualized revenue by mid-September 2026 and expected to exceed $100 million before year-end. The latter is a forecast, not a confirmed final result.

Source: rss

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