In my opinion, this generally sounds like something stupid.
This is not stupid. There are some reasons for that
Because of their own benefit:
1. Some legit ICOs can use KYC to reduce the number of fake accounts trying to benefit their "generosity".
Because of legitimacy:
all the method they are using (ICO) is not legal in most places in the world and is not regulated in anywhere.
Some projects are placed in countries not accepting cryptocurrency. Or they are trying to get away from investors coming from restricted countries.
Because of Anti Money Laundering (AML), I think this is the main reason of almost KYC requirement. Because of the anonymity of cryptocurrency, they are worried that they will be involved in unlawful events. Do you want to be caught by interpol while you are deploying your project?