Sam Altman’s biometric startup World raises $52.5 million via crypto sale
Sam Altman’s biometric startup, World, has raised $52.5 million through a sale of its WLD crypto tokens to strategic investors. The company focuses on 'proof of human' verification to distinguish real users from AI-generated bots.
Why it matters
As AI content proliferates, identity verification startups are attracting significant capital to solve the problem of digital authenticity.
World, the online verification startup co-founded by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, has raised $52.5 million through a crypto token sale to strategic investors.
Participating investors joined a 12-month lockup sale of World’s token, WLD. Lockup periods prevent asset buyers from selling or trading their tokens for a set period of time. The year-long lockup demonstrates investors’ “long-term commitment to World’s continued growth and utility,” the company said Friday in a press release.
The money will go to the World Foundation, an exempted limited guarantee foundation based in the Cayman Islands, created to steward the expansion of World’s network.
The sale’s lead buyer is Pantera Capital, a venture capital firm focused on digital assets. Other companies involved in the sale included Eightco Holdings, Bain Capital Crypto, Susquehanna Crypto, and Selini Capital, among others.
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