As OpenAI files for IPO, Sam Altman’s eye-scanning company is doing layoffs, report says

TL;DR

• 1

  OpenAI’s IPO move is colliding with bad timing at Sam Altman’s other company — The same day OpenAI said it confidentially filed for an IPO, Business Insider reported layoffs at Altman-backed Tools for Humanity, the company behind World and Worldcoin.

• 2

  Tools for Humanity’s pitch is eyeball scans as proof-of-personhood — Its silver “orb” scans irises to verify humans versus bots and to support identity checks tied to its cryptocurrency, Worldcoin.

• 3

  The company raised big money on a controversial idea but is reportedly struggling to make revenue — Tools for Humanity reached a $2.5 billion valuation with backing from Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital, and other blockchain-focused investors, yet is now reportedly downsizing.

• 4

  Big U.S. partnerships haven’t insulated it from backlash — The company has worked with Tinder, Zoom, and Docusign, but internationally it has run into ethical and regulatory scrutiny over collecting biometric data.

• 5

  World’s growth strategy has included trading crypto for biometric data, and regulators pushed back — In places like Kenya, India, and Hong Kong, people were offered about $50 in Worldcoin for iris scans; Kenya banned operations over privacy and financial concerns, and South Korea fined the company $830,000 for alleged privacy-law violations.