World Foundation announced it has raised an initial $52.5 million in new funding through a one-year locked token sale to strategic investors. Pantera Capital led the first close, with participation from Bain Capital Crypto, Eightco Holdings, Selini Capital, Susquehanna Crypto, and other investors. All WLD tokens sold as part of the raise are subject to a 12-month lockup.
The new capital will be used to expand World ID technology to organizations, consumers, and AI agents globally as demand for proof of human infrastructure accelerates alongside the growth of AI. World’s technology allows individuals to verify they are unique humans without revealing their identity, using a one-time verification performed at a device called an Orb to generate a World ID that is stored securely on the user’s phone. Starting this year, World ID is being integrated with platforms including Zoom, Docusign, Okta, Vercel, and Tinder.
The funding coincides with the three-year anniversary of World launching into production. To date, more than 39 million people have joined World Network, with more than 18 million verified through an Orb, and the network has processed more than 475 million World ID proofs since launch. The company recently released World ID 4.0, described as enterprise-ready infrastructure capable of supporting high-scale integrations while also allowing independent developers to build additional credentials within the World ID stack of zero-knowledge proofs.
KEY QUOTES:
“The need for Proof of Human is becoming acutely clear with the acceleration of AI development, and we see this in the influx of enterprise traction. We’re excited to continue supporting World’s mission at this inflection point in its growth.”
Cosmo Jiang, General Partner, Pantera Capital
“We’re excited to support World Foundation’s continued growth. World’s technology and proof of human and variations are among the most important building blocks to secure and verify interactions in an increasingly digital driven world.”
Tom Lee, Board Member, Eightco
