The World Foundation raised $52.5 million through a strategic WLD token sale because it accelerated the rollout of its World ID identity network, with all purchased tokens locked for one year.
The World Foundation raised $52.5 million through a strategic WLD token sale to expand its World ID identity network, with all purchased tokens locked for one year.
The nonprofit said the funding will support businesses adopting World ID, as more than 39 million users have joined the network and over 18 million have completed Orb verification.
The fundraising has faced ongoing regulatory scrutiny and renewed attention on the concentration of WLD ownership following Grayscale’s ETF filing, as World continues to expand globally.
On Friday, the World Foundation announced that it has completed the first close of a strategic WLD token sale, raising $52.5 million from a group of crypto-focused investors to support the expansion of its human verification infrastructure. The nonprofit said each WLD token sold in the transaction will be locked up for one year.
Pantera Capital led the first close of the fundraising, and other investors—including Bain Capital Crypto, WLD bond company Eightco Holdings (NASDAQ: ORBS), Selini Capital, Susquehanna Crypto, and several others—also participated. Although the foundation described the fundraising as a “first close,” it did not confirm whether additional rounds are planned. When asked whether there will be more token sales, a spokesperson declined to comment.
Unlike equity financing, the foundation said that the WLD bought in the transaction is used solely for the World Network ecosystem. According to the organization, the tokens do not provide ownership of Tools for Humanity, the companies responsible for developing the software and hardware for the project, nor do they grant rights to profits or investment returns.
The foundation said the new funds from the fundraising will be used to expand World ID for enterprises, consumers, and AI agents in international markets. At the time of the announcement, the organization said that after building the protocol over the past three years, it is entering a new stage focused on increasing the real-world use of its identity network.
The world is shifting focus toward enterprise adoption.
The World Foundation said that as AI systems become more capable, demand is increasing for technologies that can distinguish real humans from online automated agents.
World allows users to prove they are uniquely human by completing a one-time Orb scan, generating a World ID without revealing their identity. The foundation said that users keep their World ID on their own devices, and the verification process relies on advanced cryptography and anonymous multi-party computation—computations that have been open-sourced to protect privacy.
