World Assets, a subsidiary of the World Foundation, has raised US$135 million through the sale of WLD tokens to Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Crypto, two of the project’s early backers.

The sale was conducted at market prices and increases the circulating supply of WLD tokens.

The funds will be used to expand the World network and meet growing demand for Orb-verified World IDs, particularly in the United States and other international markets.

The project also aims to become one of the first self-sustaining protocols through the implementation of protocol fees.

Additional participants in the previously disclosed funding round include Selini Capital, Mirana Ventures, and Arctic Digital.

World, co-founded by Open AI CEO Sam Altman, is building infrastructure to verify human identity in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.

The project has more than 26 million users across over 160 countries, and more than 12.5 million individuals have obtained a World ID verified by the Orb device.

The project continues to face regulatory scrutiny in several jurisdictions over concerns related to biometric data collection and user privacy.

In Asia, investigations or enforcement actions have taken place in Indonesia, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and India.

Globally, World has been suspended or fined in countries such as Kenya, Brazil, Spain, and Portugal.

In Argentina, the project is under significant investigation and facing regulatory pressure, particularly at the regional level.

It is also under investigation in France, the United Kingdom, Colombia, and Germany.

Regulatory agencies in these markets have raised issues around data protection, transparency, and compliance with local privacy laws.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by World