# PIP Labs

> PIP Labs is the Palo Alto research and engineering company behind the network launched as Story, a blockchain for programmable intellectual property. After broad creative-rights licensing met resistance from major IP owners, its ecosystem focused on rights-cleared AI training data and rebranded the Story Network as DATA Network in June 2026. Its work connects data registration, audit receipts, licensing and payments with applications such as Trace and the incubated Poseidon project.

- **Founded:** 2022
- **Headquarters:** Palo Alto, United States
- **Founders:** Seung Yoon (SY) Lee (Co-founder and CEO), Jason Zhao (Co-founder; former technical and product leader), Jason Levy (Co-founder)
- **Products:** Story / DATA Network, Proof of Creativity Protocol and Programmable IP License, Trace, Poseidon
- **Notable:** Raised $134 million across seed, Series A and Series B rounds through August 2024., Story mainnet launched in February 2025., Network rebranded as DATA Network in June 2026, with a focus on AI training data.

## Products & services

- **Story / DATA Network** — Layer 1 network initially built for programmable IP, renamed DATA Network in June 2026 and focused on AI training-data provenance and licensing.
- **Proof of Creativity Protocol and Programmable IP License** — Smart-contract modules and an associated legal license for registering IP, setting usage terms, recording derivatives and routing royalties.
- **Trace** — Public search and audit interface for data receipts, including provenance, consent, license and payment metadata while underlying data remains private.
- **Poseidon** — Incubated, separately funded AI data project that collects and refines rights-cleared real-world data for model developers.

## Achievements

- Raised $134 million across seed, Series A and Series B rounds through August 2024.
- Story mainnet launched in February 2025.
- Network rebranded as DATA Network in June 2026, with a focus on AI training data.
- The DATA Foundation reported more than 100 million data registrations by August 2026; Trace later showed more than 250 million indexed receipts.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Trace's public dashboard displayed more than 250 million indexed data receipts and more than 500,000 contributors when checked.
- **2026-08** — PIP Labs shared a further 18-month extension of locked DATA token unlocks with the DATA Foundation; the foundation reported more than 100 million registrations.
- **2026-06** — Story Network became DATA Network, with Trace, Poseidon and AI training-data provenance central to its public positioning.
- **2025-02** — Story public mainnet launched.

## Links

- Website: https://www.piplabs.xyz/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pip-labs
- GitHub: https://github.com/piplabs

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/pip-labs
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-30