From May 10th to 18th, we took a group of 18 elite builders to Seoul for an intensive week-long build sprint, with mentorship and support from senior developer talent at Tools for Humanity. The goal was to accelerate teams from early prototypes to products ready to scale.
During our time in Seoul, we:
Worked side by side with the TFH Team to build out new features
Stress-tested products with real users
Prepared for the next phase: scaling to millions of users
It was a big week; we met lots of local users, ate serious amounts of Korean BBQ, and even got featured in Korean national news. A big thank you to the TFH Korea team for being excellent hosts and to everyone who joined us for this one!
Lessons from Seoul
The intensive feedback sessions and user tests in Seoul didn't just improve the products; they served as a massive proof of concept for where the ecosystem is moving. Specifically, five core lessons stood out:
Identity is becoming the most valuable driver for authenticity online: in an AI-native internet, verified humanity becomes essential infrastructure. That’s what World ID enables and why so many builders are designing products around proof of human verification from day one.
The internet still struggles to connect humans in the real world: agents can browse the web, but humans are still the ones experiencing reality. Who trains AI with real-world information that the web cannot provide?
Simplicity wins: making a successful product for a global audience means keeping it as simple as possible so all users can participate.
Communities need better systems for coordination and knowledge, not just communication: we need a place to chat and stay in touch, but also tools that help people build trust, coordinate actions, connect IRL, and verify who’s actually participating.
AI agents are becoming products, markets, and even digital extensions of ourselves: the next generation of apps may not just connect humans to platforms, but humans, agents, and verified identity all together.
If AI is becoming a core driver of internet content and traffic, proof of humanity will become the tool to signify high-value traffic. World ID gives developers the tools to verify humans while preserving privacy and creating the foundation for products where ownership and participation can be tied to real people.
Seoul Build Week gave us a glimpse of what that future will look like. Over the coming weeks, we'll be sharing more about the builders, products, and experiments that emerged from the retreat. Stay tuned!
Updates from World Build
For those who hacked with us but did not make it to our Stage 2, please know that our TG Group will remain active. If you want feedback on your product or need support, please join the chat here if you haven't yet and feel free to ping us in the questions channel if you need support.
Members of the TFH will be at ETHConf in NYC this week. If you want to connect, let us know you're in town by replying to this email.
- The World Build Team