World raises $135M to support expansion

After launching in the U.S. market with great fanfare, World has announced new funding aimed at supporting its ambitious expansion across the American market and beyond.

World Assets, a subsidiary of the World Foundation, has raised US$135 million through the sale of its Worldcoin (WLD) cryptocurrency to two of the project’s earliest backers, Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Crypto. Other backers include Selini Capital, Mirana Ventures and Arctic Digital.

Aside from supporting expansion, the Sam Altman-founded crypto-slash-digital identity project plans to use the funds to increase the number of its biometric devices, known as Orbs. World currently operates 1,600 active Orbs and is planning to deploy an additional 7,500 by the end of 2025. The company is also introducing a mini version of the iris-scanning device.

More than 12.5 million people have verified their biometrics through the Orb to register for the World ID digital identity, allowing them to prove they are human in online transactions (proof-of-personhood). By scanning their iris, users receive some of the platform’s cryptocurrency.

The latest funding round is part of World’s plan to create a capital buffer through sales of WLD tokens from its treasury to select private institutional investors. Last year, the company raised $59.5 million in this way.

At the same time, it announced a governance reshuffle, which included the formation of World Assets, a  British Virgin Islands-incorporated business in charge of selling its WLD to trading firms and distributing it to the World Network, based out of the Cayman Islands.

Worldcoin ecosystem developer Tools For Humanity (TFH), led by Alex Blania, remained in charge of the World App digital wallet application. The firm has headquarters in San Francisco and a wholly-owned subsidiary in Bavaria, Germany.

During its U.S. launch, World also announced plans for a Visa-compatible World Card, offering crypto transactions through the World App at online and physical stores. The company also scored a deal with Tinder in Japan to pilot its World ID and age verification tools.

The U.S. launch was followed by a rollout in the Philippines and the appointment of a country manager for Thailand, tasked with leading expansion.

The digital ID project, however, is still causing controversies in many parts of the world. Earlier in May, Indonesia suspended the World project, with the government threatening to delete 500,000 biometric data records collected by the platform. Kenya also ordered World to delete all biometric data it collected from more than 300,000 citizens in the country.

Article Topics

Andreessen Horowitz  |  Bain Capital  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  funding  |  investment  |  World  |  World ID Orb