World Foundation has raised an initial $52.5 million through a sale of locked WLD tokens to strategic investors, with Pantera Capital leading the funding round.
The round also included Bain Capital Crypto, Eightco Holdings, Selini Capital, Susquehanna Crypto and other investors, according to a Friday announcement shared with Cointelegraph. The WLD tokens sold in the fundraising are subject to a 12-month lockup.
The nonprofit behind the World protocol said that new funds will be used to expand World ID, its system designed to distinguish people from AI agents. World ID generates a digital credential after users complete biometric verification at a World Orb device.
The organization said AI-generated content and autonomous agents are increasing demand for systems that can verify whether an online user is a real person.
World was originally conceived by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Max Novendstern and Tools for Humanity CEO Alex Blania. The project has faced regulatory scrutiny in several jurisdictions over its biometric identity verification system.
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