'ChatGPT Father' Sam Altman, Worldcoin Expands To U.S.… Iris Collection Intensifies

Sam Altman, who entered the cryptocurrency business through 'Worldcoin' (Source: NYT)

Sam Altman, famous as the developer of AI chatbot 'ChatGPT', and co-founder of the digital identity project Worldcoin, officially entered the US market. Along with this, the full-scale iris collection work will also begin in the United States.

'Tools For Humanity' (TFH), the developer of Worldcoin, announced at the 'At Last' event held in San Francisco on April 30 (local time) that they will officially introduce Worldcoin and related infrastructure to the US. With this, Worldcoin will be listed on the US market about 10 months after its launch in July 2023, and will be tradable on local cryptocurrency exchanges starting May 1.

Worldcoin uses a digital identity authentication method that utilizes biometric information, and issues a 'World ID' based on scanning the user's iris through a dedicated device 'Orb'. Worldcoin is issued based on this ID, and users can store it in the World App wallet.

TFH plans to install 7,500 Orb devices across the United States by the end of the year, which is four times the current global deployment. The current Worldcoin ID issuance cities in the US are six locations: Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco, with plans to expand to Seattle, Las Vegas, Orlando, etc.

At the event, Altman emphasized, “As AI advances, the authentication system to distinguish between people and AI will become important,” and “Worldcoin is one of the solutions for this.”

Meanwhile, TFH has partnered with the global dating platform Match Group to introduce an identity verification feature linked to World ID and announced the upcoming launch of the ‘World Card’ in collaboration with Visa. A miniaturized version of the Orb device, 'Orb Mini', has also been unveiled, which is expected to speed up future distribution.

Currently, the number of World App users is about 26 million, and 12 million of them have completed ID verification. Although Worldcoin is already traded in various countries including Korea, Singapore, etc., it has only now been officially launched in the US due to privacy infringement controversies.