Hermes agent maker Nous Research in talks for new funding at $1.5B valuation

Nous Research, the startup behind the open-source Hermes agent, is finalizing a new round of funding led by Robot Ventures, with significant participation from USV and other prominent investors at a $1.5 billion valuation, according to three sources familiar with the deal. The company is raising at least $75 million, and received substantial interest from investors, the sources said. Nous Research did not comment on the matter, while USV and Robot Ventures did not respond to requests for comment. Founded in 2023 by Jeffrey Quesnelle, Karan Malhotra, Ryan Teknium, and Shivani Mitra, Nous Research has already secured $70 million in previous funding rounds from investors including Paradigm, Robot Ventures, North Island Ventures, OSS Capital, and Balaji Srinivasan, according to Crunchbase. The latest fundraising comes amid growing demand for AI-driven automation tools, particularly in the wake of the popularity of similar projects like OpenClaw. Following the viral success of OpenClaw, a competitor agent developed by another startup, Nous Research launched its own offering, Hermes. Designed to operate locally on PCs, Hermes enables users to automate tasks and interact with AI agents through platforms like Telegram and Discord. A key differentiator is that Hermes includes built-in “skills” such as web search, coding, and image understanding. It is also capable of learning from user interactions to develop additional capabilities without requiring manual input. In addition to its core product, Nous Research has developed specialized language models aimed at coding and mathematical tasks. These models enhance the functionality of Hermes, allowing it to handle complex operations more effectively. Users can deploy Hermes on desktop systems or virtual private servers, making it accessible to both individual developers and enterprises. For greater convenience, the company also provides a cloud-hosted version of Hermes. This option eliminates the need for local setup, offering a more streamlined experience. The hosted service is available through multiple paid subscription tiers, priced between $20 and $200 per month, catering to varying levels of user engagement and resource requirements. Hermes has gained considerable traction within the developer community, accumulating over 214,000 stars and nearly 40,000 forks on GitHub. Its open-source nature has contributed significantly to its adoption, enabling widespread customization and integration into diverse applications. The platform's ability to run on both personal devices and remote servers underscores its flexibility and scalability. The new funding is expected to support the expansion of Hermes' product offerings and refine its business strategy. Sources indicate that the investment will play a crucial role in advancing the technology and broadening its reach. As the AI agent landscape continues to evolve, Nous Research aims to solidify its position as a leader in the field of automated task execution and intelligent software assistants.