World Foundation said Friday it has raised $52.5 million to expand World ID, the "proof of human" system behind Sam Altman’s World project, arguing that verifying who is human will become more important as AI agents spread across the internet.
The initial token sale was led by Pantera Capital. Participants also included Bain Capital Crypto, Nasdaq-listed Eightco Holdings, Selini Capital, and Susquehanna Crypto. The foundation said all WLD sold in the deal will remain locked for 12 months.
The proceeds will be used to bring World ID to organizations, consumers, and their AI agents. Pantera Capital general partner Cosmo Jiang said the need for proof-of-human systems is becoming "acutely clear" as AI development speeds up.
How World ID works
World ID is designed to let someone prove they are a unique human without revealing their identity. The process relies on a one-time iris scan through a spherical device called the Orb, which generates an ID that is then stored on the user’s phone.
World, which rebranded from Worldcoin in 2024, was co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to build a global proof-of-personhood system. According to the foundation, the technology is being integrated this year with Zoom, Docusign, Okta, Vercel, and Tinder.
The group also said it is rolling out World ID 4.0, an enterprise-ready release that allows outside developers to add their own credentials into the system.
The fundraising comes as the project reaches its third anniversary. World Foundation said more than 39 million people have joined the network, 18 million have been verified through an Orb, and the system has processed 475 million ID proofs.
Regulatory pressure remains
World’s iris-scanning model has drawn regulatory action in several countries over the handling of biometric data. Hong Kong ordered the project to stop operating in 2024. A Kenyan court ordered it to delete users’ biometric data. Brazil barred the project from paying people in exchange for iris scans.
Spain moved to halt World’s data collection, while South Korea fined the project $830,000 for privacy violations.
Institutional interest continues
Even with that scrutiny, institutional interest has continued to build. Eightco, one of the investors in Friday’s round, created the first corporate WLD treasury last year. This week, Grayscale filed for the first U.S. exchange-traded fund tied to the token.