Worldcoin developer nets $115 million fundraise led by Blockchain Capital

Tools for Humanity, lead developer of the Worldcoin project, announced the completion of a $115 million fundraise led by Blockchain Capital.

The news confirms an earlier report, published by The Block in February, that Worldcoin planned to raise up to $120 million. At that time, people familiar with the matter suggested the raise would value the project at $3 billion — as did its previous round — but no valuation was disclosed in today’s announcement.

The San Francisco-based Tools for Humanity was co-founded by Alex Blania, Max Novendstern and Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT developer OpenAI. Its purpose is to drive forwards the Worldcoin project — an audacious attempt to create a cryptocurrency that is global in scope and available to anyone who has verified they are a real person. The main method of doing that is to get scanned by one of Worldcoin’s orbs.

The project is building toward the launch of the Worldcoin token, which company representatives have repeatedly earmarked for the first half of this year.

The age of AI

The cash injection will be used to further develop the recently launched World App, a wallet dedicated to the Worldcoin ecosystem, as well as for continued R&D and growth, according to the announcement.

In addition to Blockchain Capital — an American crypto investment firm with some $2 billion under management — a16z crypto, Bain Capital Crypto and Distributed Global also participated in the round.

“As we embark on the age of AI, it is imperative that individuals are able to maintain personal privacy while proving their humanness. In doing so we can help ensure that everyone can realize the financial benefits that AI is poised to deliver,” said Alex Blania, CEO and co-founder of Tools for Humanity, in a statement.

Building momentum

According to Worldcoin’s website, 1.7 million people — the majority of them in the Global South — have already had their identities verified and are ready to claim their share of the token when it launches.

The project has proven controversial since drawing sharp criticism from privacy advocates when it was first unveiled. More recently, its developers were forced to roll out fresh measures to combat the beginnings of a black market for Worldcoin credentials.

Yet momentum continues to build. The Block revealed in March that Worldcoin had struck a deal with manufacturing giant Jabil to ramp up production of its iris-scanning orbs. With the World App launching in May and fresh capital to hand, everything seems poised for the token to go live.