OpenAI head Sam Altman is close to getting about $100 million in funding for his plan to use iris scanning technology to create a secure global cryptocurrency called Worldcoin, in what would be a rare bright spot for an industry that has endured a dismal year.
According to three people familiar with the deal, Worldcoin is in advanced talks to raise fresh cash as it prepares to launch in the coming weeks.
The group includes existing and new investors, one of the people said. Previous investors in the company include Khosla Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto fund, as well as FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and internet entrepreneur Reid Hoffman.
Worldcoin was founded by Altman and Alex Blania in 2019. The company has kept a low profile since OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT which struck a multibillion-dollar deal with Microsoft earlier this year.
But it has big ambitions nonetheless, with plans to use eyeball-scanning technology to create a global identification system that could be used to gain free access to its own global currency, Worldcoin.
A $100 million token sale early last year valued the company’s total token supply at $3 billion, according to Information, a technology-focused publication.
But the tokens and crypto projects have had a bruising 12 months since then. THE Bankman-Fried cryptocurrency crash The FTX exchange in November last year accelerated the sharp decline in token prices and triggered a wave of bankruptcies of crypto companies.
FTX was backed by venture capital fund Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management by Chase Coleman and Thoma Bravo. Its implosion and the Bankman-Fried scandal have encouraged many blue-chip funds to cut back on investment in the sector.
“It is a bear market, a crypto winter. It’s remarkable for a project in this space to get this amount of investment,” said one of the people with direct knowledge of the fundraiser.
Worldcoin executives said their approach addresses two issues raised by the growing sophistication of AI: distinguishing between humans and robots and providing a form of universal basic income that could offset job losses caused by AI.
Key to the company’s plans is a globe that “uses iris biometrics to establish an individual’s unique personality, then creates a digital World ID that can be used pseudonymously in a wide variety of everyday applications without disclosing your identity,” according to the company.
Once users establish their identities, they can receive free Worldcoin tokens, the company said.
Worldcoin has received criticism on a number of issues, most notably that biometric scanning poses privacy risks. A section of its website dedicated to addressing concerns about the sphere says the company won’t store iris scans and the device won’t harm users’ eyes.
After operating in beta, the company is now preparing to roll out its blockchain protocol and start logging transactions in the next six weeks.
Worldcoin declined to comment on the fundraising.
—————————————————-
Source link