Nous Research's revolutionary AI agent, Hermes, has already made waves in the tech world with its open-source platform allowing developers to automate tasks and interact with AI remotely. Now, the company is reportedly gearing up for a massive funding boost that could see it valued at an impressive $1.5 billion.
The new investment round, led by Robot Ventures with notable participation from USV and other prominent investors, aims to raise at least $75 million. This significant injection of capital comes just three months after Nous Research secured its $50 million Series A round, highlighting the rapid growth of interest in artificial intelligence.
Founded in 2023 by Jeffrey Quesnelle, Karan Malhotra, Ryan Teknium, and Shivani Mitra, Nous Research has quickly established itself as a key player in the AI landscape. The company's Hermes agent is a direct competitor to OpenClaw, offering users the ability to automate tasks and interact with AI agents remotely. A standout feature of Hermes is its built-in 'skills', which include web search, coding, and image understanding – capabilities that can be automatically learned from user interactions without human intervention.
This means users can delegate complex tasks and receive updates via popular messaging platforms like Telegram and Discord, freeing up time for more pressing matters. The open-source nature of Hermes has contributed to its widespread adoption, with a substantial developer following on GitHub. Developers can implement Hermes on their desktop computers or virtual private servers, while Nous Research also offers a cloud-hosted version available through paid subscription tiers ranging from £16 to £160 per month.
But Nous Research's ambitions don't stop at the Hermes agent. The company is also working on a decentralised network that pools hardware resources for compute and training, as well as language models tailored specifically for coding and mathematical applications. With the incoming capital, Nous Research is expected to expand its product line and business model, potentially leading to enhanced features and greater accessibility for users worldwide.