Tools for Humanity is a technology company building tools for humans in the age of AI and a core contributor to World Network.
Pulse 2.0 interviewed Tools for Humanity’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Adrian Ludwig to learn more about the company.
Adrian Ludwig’s Background
What is Adrian Ludwig’s background? Ludwig said:
“Last year, I joined Tools for Humanity (TFH) as chief information security officer (CISO). In this role, I contribute to the security strategy for World, a project that’s working to build the world’s largest, most inclusive identity and financial network, accessible to everyone regardless of their country, background or economic status.”
“My responsibilities include overseeing security for various stakeholders, from TFH’s World App users to our global partners. I’m a firm believer that openness and decentralization are critical to building a strong, resilient security infrastructure, and I strive to embed these principles into everything we do.”
“Before joining Tools for Humanity, I was the CISO and chief trust officer at Atlassian, where I focused on building a security-first culture. Prior to that, I served as Director of Android Security at Google, responsible for safeguarding over 2 billion users—a role that shaped my perspective on scaling for massive, global platforms.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working at Tools for Humanity so far? Ludwig reflected:
“Since joining TFH, I’ve been involved in launching a number of new security-enhancing features in collaboration with World Foundation that I’m incredibly proud of – including a novel secure multi-party computation (SMPC) system. SMPC is an advanced form of cryptographic security that anonymizes the underlying data while allowing information to be retrieved from the data.”
“I also had the opportunity to travel to Argentina, one of the countries where World’s proof of personhood services are currently available, to visit on-the-ground operations and speak with the community, including local security engineers, entrepreneurs and fintech experts. It was incredible to see World’s impact in the country firsthand.”
Core Products
What are World’s core products and features? Ludwig explained:
The key elements of World include:
1.) World ID, the first tool at the center of the project, is a secure, privacy-preserving digital passport for the age of AI that proves that an individual is a real human, not a bot.
2.) World App is the first wallet created for the World project, operated by Tools for Humanity. With over 150M transactions, it’s become the third-largest crypto wallet globally, used by over 18M people.
3.) Worldcoin (WLD) is a widely distributed token.
4.) World Chain is a first-of-its-kind layer-2 blockchain that prioritizes human-based transactions above bot-based transactions, and is the largest blockchain in the world of real humans.
5.) Orb is an inclusive, secure, anonymous device that allows World ID holders to verify their humanness and uniqueness.
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Ludwig and the team face in building the company? Ludwig acknowledged:
“The age of AI presents tremendous opportunities, along with potential challenges, for the security industry. Part of preparing for the age of AI involves building out tools to help individuals preserve their online security with these technological advances. This intersection – security and AI – is one of my main focuses in my role as CISO, arguably one of the most interesting topics of conversation in the industry at the moment and why I’m so excited about World.”
“While we continue to iterate to build the most security-enhancing tech for the age of AI, another recent advancement in addition to SMPC is personal custody, an evolution in data custody recommended by privacy experts.”
“With World Personal Custody, people control the data collected and generated during humanness verification—including the World ID and related images—and decide who to share it with.”
Evolution Of World’s Technology
How has World’s technology evolved since launching? Ludwig noted:
“As we’ve gone from zero World App users to over 20 million users, the technology has gone through many rounds of evolution. We’ve made the way that users sign up and interact with our products more intuitive and accessible in many countries. We’ve expanded the number of ways that developers can integrate with World ID, and we’ve seen an increase in the number of projects and partners that are considering how to best use World ID to strengthen their products.”
“We’re constantly pushing the boundaries of privacy. Our recent work on anonymized multi-party computation (AMPC), the next generation of SMPC, is an exciting step forward—not just for enhancing user privacy but also for reinforcing the security we place around user data.””
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the project’s most significant milestones? Can you share any specific customer success stories?
“World is at the forefront of developing the tools humanity needs in the age of AI. Some key milestones include:
1.) Over 20 million people have downloaded World App, more than 10 million of whom are verified World ID holders across 160+ countries.
2.)Mini Apps on TFH’s World App has seen rapid growth, with approximately 3.8M daily opens, 6.7M daily impressions, & 3.4M weekly World ID verifications (& growing).
3.) Projects are increasingly choosing to integrate with World ID to ensure their products and services are being used by real humans:
a.) For example, SARAH, a popular Japanese gourmet app, is using World ID to enhance user verification and tackle account spoofing, while Reddio, a leading parallel zkEVM Layer 2, has integrated World ID to strengthen its security for user authentication. In retail, brands like Singapore’s Flojo are incorporating it into their checkout process to offer verified humans discounts. Another use case is social media: organizations like DSCVR, a Web3 social media network, are using World ID to provide users with a bot-free, privacy-focused experience. These integrations really show how diverse the use cases are becoming for World ID in proving humanness online.
b.) World Chain, launched in mid-October 2024, is backed by key infrastructure platforms like Alchemy, Elliptic, Fireblocks and Safe.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Ludwig assessed:
“There are a few different relevant markets here.”
“First, as we work to build the world’s largest identity and financial network, the project is focusing on rapidly scaling and expanding to serve everyone in the world.”
“Then, there is the set of services who want to make sure they can differentiate humans from bots within their platforms. We’ve talked to everyone from large internet companies to enterprises to web3 projects – and nearly everyone has this problem to some extent, so we think there is a really large market on the application side as well.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates World from its competition? Ludwig affirmed:
“What we’re doing is almost outrageous: building hardware and trying to deploy it everywhere in the world. That level of ambition really sets us apart. We are, of course, doing this to address one of the most pressing challenges of our time—how to distinguish between humans and bots in a world that’s becoming increasingly digital. And while there are lots of adjacent tech companies, such as identity organizations, single sign-on organizations, or social networks that can make general representations about a user’s “level of humanness,” none of them are quite going after this hardware-based, trustworthy statement of humanness at scale.”
“Another thing that differentiates World is the principled nature of the project, specifically a commitment to privacy. We are focused on creating a privacy-preserving, scalable solution that not only verifies humanness but does so in a way that prioritizes individual privacy. Many identity and security companies attempting to do similar things realize they need a ton of data to make an analysis of a user’s humanness. We have a baseline commitment to privacy that means we are not willing to approach it in that way. Our open-source, decentralized approach is built on the belief that trust and transparency are key for the future of the Internet. We are not just building a product—we’re building a foundation for a safer, more secure digital landscape.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the project’s future company goals? Ludwig concluded:
“We’ve already seen millions of people globally embrace World’s vision of a more inclusive and trusted digital network, and this is just the beginning. It’s easy for many to see how verifying humanness on a social network platform could be immensely helpful with the online bot problem.”
“What does the World vision look like in practice, though? We are looking to identify, what are things that are only possible if you have an online environment with trusted humans?”
“When I look back at some of the most impressive technological advances and applications, I think about the services that you couldn’t have imagined tech could give you – and then it did. Like summoning a car ride from your smartphone within moments.”
“With a more human internet, new kinds of experiences will emerge – we can’t imagine what all of them are yet, but one of our goals is beginning to help people see those opportunities, imagine and build them. It’s inspiring to think about: Once you enable these human-only experiences, you’ll begin to have a version of the internet that nobody has seen in 30 years or so – which is novel in itself.”
