Sam Altman's biometric startup World raises $52.5M via crypto sale | TechCrunch

Last day to exhibit your breakthrough to 10,000+ tech leaders at Disrupt is on Oct 2. Book Exhibit Table Now. Disrupt doors open Oct. 13. Get your pass and bring someone with you at 50% off. REGISTER NOW. 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 yearlong 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. The World project is operated by Tools for Humanity (TFH), a startup based in San Francisco and led by CEO and co-found