World – the company behind the World Network digital identity network – recently sold WLD tokens worth 135 million USD to two long-time investors, Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Crypto. This information was announced in a press release on Wednesday, emphasizing the goal of expanding World Network's operations in the US and globally, while developing infrastructure for the World ID system – a tool for verifying human identity in the digital space.
To date, over 26 million users have accessed World Network, and 12.5 million have created a World ID through the Orb device – a device that scans irises to collect biometric data and verify human identity in the digital world.
World emphasized that: "Artificial Intelligence (AI) is developing at a dizzying speed. Tools to distinguish between humans and machines also need to develop quickly to prepare for the era of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)." This new funding will serve World's long-term mission and is backed by investors who have believed in the project from the beginning. It is expected that World Network will become one of the first self-operating protocols in the world.
Earlier in early 2025, World announced plans for an official launch in the US market with Orb device deployment points in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco. Users only need to scan their irises at these points to create a World ID and receive WLD tokens, as a form of verifying "humanness" in an increasingly machine and AI-dominated digital world.
World was developed by Tools for Humanity – a company that successfully raised 135 million USD in May 2023 in a funding round led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from a16z crypto, Bain Capital Crypto, and Distributed Global. One of World's co-founders is Sam Altman – CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.
