Sam Altman-backed World comes to the U.S.
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World, the eyeball-scanning identity management platform co-founded by Sam Altman, is bringing its technology to the U.S., while announcing partnerships with Match Group, Razer and others.
Why it matters: The move opens up one of the biggest and most lucrative technology markets for World, which says its biometric verification system is the key to proving humanity in a world where people and bots operate side-by-side.
Driving the news: World said it will bring its Orb scanner to the U.S., starting in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville and San Francisco. The scanners will be located at both standalone World Spaces and partner locations, including Razer's retail stores.
- World plans to offer its own Visa-compatible World Card later this year that will allow people to spend crypto assets from their World app wallet at online and physical stores.
Catch up quick: Originally known as Worldcoin, the company announced its rebrand at an event last year where it said it was broadening beyond its cryptocurrency roots.
- The Altman-backed project made headlines for offering a small amount of its cryptocurrency in exchange for verifying identity and biometric data — a proposition that has encountered a range of reactions, including some opposition from regulators.
- World says its token won't be available to people or companies based in New York State.
Between the lines: The promise of cryptocurrency has helped the company scan and verify 12 million people around the world via the Orb, but World execs acknowledge the company needs a more compelling array of services to broaden its appeal, especially in a market like the U.S.
- "It's not about a small amount of crypto payment," said Adrian Ludwig, chief architect of Tools for Humanity, the for-profit tech company behind the World effort. "It's really about unlocking the potential of all those other services."
The big picture: Ludwig says recent examples in the U.S. of scammers using AI tools to sign up for class-action settlements and financial aid for online community college classes highlight an urgent need for better means of identity verification.
- "It's not a fantastical future set of use cases," he said. "These are very practical things that people are affected by right now."
