World, the iris startup by Sam Altman, raises $52.5 million through crypto token sale
World, the online identity verification startup co-founded by Sam Altman, has raised $52.5 million USD from selling crypto tokens to strategic investors.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- World raises $52.5 million through a crypto token sale
- Pantera Capital leads as the primary buyer in this funding round
- Funds are directed to the World Foundation in the Cayman Islands to expand the network
- The company faces scaling challenges and recently laid off employees in June
World, the online identity and biometric verification startup co-founded by OpenAI leader Sam Altman, has successfully secured $52.5 million USD through a crypto token sale to a group of strategic investors. All the funds will be channeled to the World Foundation, an exempted limited guarantee foundation based in the Cayman Islands, responsible for managing and driving the expansion of the World network.
In this funding round, Pantera Capital, a venture capital firm focusing on digital assets, served as the largest buyer. Several other prominent companies also participated, including:
- Eightco Holdings
- Bain Capital Crypto
- Susquehanna Crypto
- Selini Capital
Regarding its operations, the World project is driven by Tools for Humanity, a startup headquartered in San Francisco, with Alex Blania serving as CEO and co-founder alongside Sam Altman as another co-founder. This comes even though the project recently launched a new app version in April and announced partnerships with tech giants such as Tinder and Ticketmaster.
The tech startup's shift to using crypto token sales for fundraising is a strategy that provides access to capital sources beyond traditional capital markets, amidst fluctuating economic conditions and confidence in the digital asset market. Attracting top-tier major funds like Pantera Capital is a crucial step in building structural confidence for the biometric project, which is often scrutinized over user privacy.
However, amid its global ambitions, World continues to face significant hurdles in scaling its business and difficulties in convincing the general public to pay attention to or recognize their mission. This eventually led to organizational downsizing and layoffs by Tools for Humanity this past June.
Source: TechCrunch
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