Sam Altman’s biometric startup World raises $52.5 million through the sale of cryptocurrencies

World, an online verification startup co-founded by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, has raised $52.5 million through a cryptocurrency token sale to strategic investors.

Participating investors have joined a 12-month closed-door sale of the global token WLD. Lock-up periods prevent asset buyers from selling or trading their tokens for a specified period of time. The one-year closure demonstrates investors’ “long-term commitment to continued growth and benefit in the world,” the company said Friday in a press release.

The funds will go to the Global Foundation, an exempt corporation with limited guarantee based in the Cayman Islands, set up to manage the expansion of the global network.

The lead buyer for the sale is Pantera Capital, a venture capital firm focused on digital assets. Other companies participating in the sale include Eightco Holdings, Bain Capital Crypto, Susquehanna Crypto, and Selini Capital, among others.

The global project is managed by Tools for Humanity, a San Francisco-based startup led by CEO and co-founder Alex Blania. Altman is the company’s other co-founder.

World is an unusual company that revolves around online verification and sells access to what it calls “human proof” tools. The idea is that as robots and artificial intelligence generate a significant amount of online content, it will become increasingly important to know who is truly human and who is not. World’s mission is to promote its World ID, an anonymous digital tag that verifies whether a human — not a bot or AI agent — is behind a given account.

To obtain a Verified Global ID (the highest level of verification within the global system), users must scan their eyes with an orb, a metal ball that turns the user’s iris into a unique cryptographic ID. World’s Orbs are located in its offices and are also deployed in partner stores around the world.

The project began as a more straightforward cryptocurrency-based experiment under the name “Worldcoin” — the same name as the cryptocurrency assets involved in the recent sale. Users can trade or hold the token through the World app, which also acts as a custodial wallet. The company later rebranded to World amid a broader backlash against the cryptocurrency industry.

In April, the project launched a new version of its app, and announced partnerships with companies, including Tinder and Ticketmaster. However, despite its global ambitions, World has struggled to scale its business or convince consumers to care much about its mission. In June, TFH conducted a round of layoffs.