Nous Research, the creator of the open-source AI agent Hermes, is closing a new funding round of at least $75 million, led by Robot Ventures with significant involvement from USV and other investors. This latest round values the startup at $1.5 billion, according to sources familiar with the deal.
Founded in 2023 by Jeffrey Quesnelle, Karan Malhotra, Ryan Teknium, and Shivani Mitra, Nous Research had previously raised $70 million from investors including Paradigm, Robot Ventures, North Island Ventures, OSS Capital, and Balaji Srinivasan.
Hermes: Open-Source AI Agent with Built-In Skills
Hermes emerged shortly after OpenClaw’s agent gained popularity. Unlike OpenClaw, which runs locally on a PC and performs user tasks, Hermes ships with prebuilt skills such as web search, coding, and image understanding. It is designed to learn automatically from user interactions, enabling it to develop new skills without manual updates.
Users can interact with Hermes agents via chat or receive notifications through popular platforms like Telegram and Discord. This functionality supports remote, continuous operation of AI agents, which has driven strong adoption.
Community and Cloud Services
Hermes is widely adopted in the developer community, boasting approximately 214,000 stars and nearly 40,000 forks on GitHub. It can be run on desktops or virtual private servers, offering flexibility for technical users.
For those preferring a simpler experience, Nous Research also offers a cloud-hosted version of Hermes. This service is available through tiered subscriptions ranging from $20 to $200 per month, providing a more user-friendly alternative without the need for local setup.
Future Growth and Product Expansion
The new funding round is expected to accelerate the development of Hermes’ product suite and expand Nous Research’s business model. The company has also developed language models focused on coding and mathematics, complementing Hermes’ core capabilities.
As AI agents become increasingly integral to business workflows and personal productivity, Nous Research is positioning Hermes as a leading open-source and cloud-based solution.
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Disclaimer: This article provides an overview of AI automation funding and product development. It does not offer medical, legal, or financial advice. Readers should perform their own due diligence before adopting any AI technology.