The problem
Apps and platforms can't tell real people from bots, AI agents and deepfakes online
What they do
Builds World ID, the iris-scanning Orb and World App to prove users are human
Traction 39M+ World network users, 18M+ Orb-verified (up from 12.5M in May 2025); revenue thin
Hiring trend
- Open roles
- 7
- Headcount
- ~400+
Shrinking: layoffs Jun 2026; staff 500+ (Jun) to 400+ (Oct job posts); 14 open roles
Hiring in
- San Francisco
- Munich
Latest news
Oct 2026
World ID added to Okta, Vercel, Exa and Browserbase to verify humans behind AI agents ↗Glassdoor
3.6 ★ 25 reviews ↗Funding
- Last round
- $52.5M
- Stage
- Series C
- Date
- Jul 2026
Led by Pantera Capital (WLD token sale to World Foundation, not TFH equity; $135M a16z/Bain token sale May 2025)
- Hiring+17 open roles on the live job board (3–9 roles = +1)
- Funding recency+1.5Series C · $52.5M, Jul 2026 (3 months ago): 6 months or less = +1.5
- Traction—Judged, but outweighed: 39M+ World network users, 18M+ Orb-verified (up from 12.5M in May 2025); revenue thin
- Red flags—Outweigh everything above (−1 each), so the total is floored at 0Layoffs Jun 2026 amid revenue struggles; C-suite exodus (chief architect, chief legal officer) Feb 2026; regulatory bans and orders: Colombia permanent shutdown (final Jun 2026), Philippines cease-and-desist (Oct 2025), Thailand suspension (Nov 2025), Indonesia suspension (May 2025), Brazil ban (Jan 2025), Kenya court-ordered data deletion (May 2025), Spain GDPR warning (Feb 2026); law-firm probes into Thailand bribery risk and WLD fund misuse (reported Jun 2026)Business Insider: TFH laying off employees (Jun 2026) ↗ · Business Insider Africa: TFH bleeding high-level employees (Feb 2026) ↗ · Colombia SIC: permanent shutdown upheld (Jul 2026) ↗ · Rappler: Philippines NPC cease-and-desist (Oct 2025) ↗ · ForkLog: Thailand PDPC orders World to stop iris scans (Nov 2025) ↗ · Straits Times: Indonesia suspends Worldcoin (May 2025) ↗ · Cointelegraph: Brazil ANPD ban (Jan 2025) ↗ · Eastleigh Voice: Kenya data erased after court order (Jan 2026) ↗ · PPC Land: Spain AEPD warning (Feb 2026) ↗ · Biometric Update: TFH hired law firms to probe bribery, financial misconduct (Jun 2026) ↗
- Total0.0floored at 0 → Cool-down
Cool-down rule: score under 1.5 and headcount is shrinking or there were layoffs.
Distance (10K) is a separate read on how long the lead can last. It doesn't change the score.
Distance
10K · edge: grows with users
Largest proof-of-personhood network (18M Orb-verified) ahead of Humanity Protocol and ID-verification incumbents, but heavy exposure from bans in multiple countries, layoffs and thin revenue.
Sources: The Block: World Foundation $52.5M token sale, 39M users, 18M verified (Jul 2026) ↗ · Biometric Update: World shifts to enterprise proof-of-humanity (Jun 2026) ↗
Watch-outs
Layoffs Jun 2026 amid revenue struggles; C-suite exodus (chief architect, chief legal officer) Feb 2026; regulatory bans and orders: Colombia permanent shutdown (final Jun 2026), Philippines cease-and-desist (Oct 2025), Thailand suspension (Nov 2025), Indonesia suspension (May 2025), Brazil ban (Jan 2025), Kenya court-ordered data deletion (May 2025), Spain GDPR warning (Feb 2026); law-firm probes into Thailand bribery risk and WLD fund misuse (reported Jun 2026)
Sources: Business Insider: TFH laying off employees (Jun 2026) ↗ · Business Insider Africa: TFH bleeding high-level employees (Feb 2026) ↗ · Colombia SIC: permanent shutdown upheld (Jul 2026) ↗ · Rappler: Philippines NPC cease-and-desist (Oct 2025) ↗ · ForkLog: Thailand PDPC orders World to stop iris scans (Nov 2025) ↗ · Straits Times: Indonesia suspends Worldcoin (May 2025) ↗ · Cointelegraph: Brazil ANPD ban (Jan 2025) ↗ · Eastleigh Voice: Kenya data erased after court order (Jan 2026) ↗ · PPC Land: Spain AEPD warning (Feb 2026) ↗ · Biometric Update: TFH hired law firms to probe bribery, financial misconduct (Jun 2026) ↗
Open ops roles
No ops roles open right now
Last checked Oct 25, 2026