Worldcoin Rebrands As World, Introduces New Iris-Scanning Orb
The newly unveiled Orb is designed for easier mass production and operates three times faster than its predecessor.
Worldcoin, the cryptocurrency project co-founded by Sam Altman, has officially rebranded to “World,” shedding the “coin” from its name. The announcement was made during a live event in San Francisco, where the startup, now operating under Tools for Humanity, unveiled its next generation of iris-scanning devices known as "Orbs."
Alex Blania, co-founder and CEO of Tools for Humanity, stated that the previous name was no longer suitable, hinting at a desire to evolve beyond its original crypto-focused identity. Initially, the eye-scanning technology was intended for access to Worldcoins, but the founders clarified that this never materialized.
While Altman dedicates a significant portion of his time to World, Blania emphasized that the missions of World and OpenAI are independent, although he did not dismiss the potential integration of World’s cryptocurrency into ChatGPT in the future.
The World project aims to provide “human verification services” based on blockchain technology, addressing the challenge of distinguishing between humans and AI in online interactions. The initiative also seeks to make AI’s benefits accessible to the public by potentially redistributing wealth generated by AI through Worldcoins.
However, the project has faced scrutiny from governments globally, including investigations in Kenya and the European Union concerning privacy and financial implications. Although the Kenyan inquiry concluded favorably, EU investigations are still ongoing.
During the event, World executives outlined a four-step roadmap, stating that the first two steps—developing the Orb and creating a distributed ownership network—have been completed. The next step involves scaling the project to increase the number of verified users from 7 million to a larger number, necessitating the scanning of more eyeballs worldwide.
The newly unveiled Orb is designed for easier mass production and operates three times faster than its predecessor. Tools for Humanity announced a partnership with Rappi, a leading delivery service in Latin America, allowing users to schedule home verification appointments.
Additionally, the startup introduced Deep Face, a tool aimed at combating online deepfakes and impersonation. They also launched a beta version of World ID, a digital identity credential that provides an alternative to government-issued IDs for online verification while minimizing the sharing of personal information.
