World Foundation token sale raises $52.5 million for World ID

The World Foundation token sale raised $52.5 million to grow World ID, the identity network tied to Sam Altman’s World, the nonprofit said Friday. For crypto investors, the raise puts fresh capital behind one of the more closely watched attempts to prove online users are human as AI-generated activity spreads across apps and services.

Pantera Capital led the initial sale, according to the World Foundation. Bain Capital Crypto, Eightco Holdings, Selini Capital and Susquehanna Crypto also took part. The WLD tokens sold in the round are subject to a 12-month lockup, meaning buyers cannot sell those tokens during that period.

The Foundation said the money will support broader use of World ID by organizations, consumers and AI agents. Pantera general partner Cosmo Jiang said the “need for Proof of Human is becoming acutely clear” as AI development speeds up.

What is World ID?

World ID is designed to let someone show they are a unique person while keeping their personal identity private. The system uses a one-time iris scan at a spherical device called the Orb, which creates an ID that is stored on the user’s phone, according to the World Foundation.

World, formerly known as Worldcoin, was co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and rebranded in 2024, according to Reuters. Its broader goal is a “proof of personhood” system, a way for apps and services to distinguish real people from bots or automated accounts without requiring users to disclose who they are.

The Foundation said World ID is being connected this year with platforms including Zoom, Docusign, Okta, Vercel and Tinder. It also pointed to World ID 4.0, an enterprise-ready version that lets outside developers add their own credentials to the system.

How big is World’s network now?

The fundraising lands around the project’s third anniversary. The World Foundation said more than 39 million people have joined the network, 18 million have completed in-person Orb verification and the system has handled 475 million ID proofs.

For readers tracking the WLD token, the structure of the raise is worth understanding. A token sale is a fundraising method where a project sells its crypto token to investors rather than issuing company equity. A lockup can limit near-term selling from those buyers, although it does not remove broader market risk or say anything about future token prices.

Regulators have pushed back on iris scans

World’s biometric model has also drawn government scrutiny in multiple countries. Hong Kong ordered the project to stop operating in 2024, and a Kenyan court ordered it to delete users’ biometric data, according to the actions cited by Decrypt.

Brazil banned the project from paying people for iris scans, Spain moved to stop its data collection and South Korea fined the project $830,000, according to Decrypt. Those actions show the central tension around World ID: the project is trying to solve a real online identity problem, while regulators are questioning how biometric data is collected and handled.

The Foundation’s new funding round suggests major crypto investors still see demand for human-verification tools as AI becomes more common across the internet. The next test is whether World can expand adoption while addressing the privacy concerns that have followed the project across markets.

This story draws on original reporting from Decrypt.