The “Orb,” a silver, basketball-sized device that scans human irises to generate and store unique biometric data, sounds like it’s straight out of a science fiction tale. But these devices are real, developed by a startup co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and are now available in six U.S. cities.
“America should lead innovation, not fight it off,” said Altman yesterday (April 30) during an event unveiling the U.S. expansion of World, the digital identification project behind Orbs. The devices can now be found in seven locations cross Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville and San Francisco.
World is the brainchild of Tools for Humanity, a company established by Altman and deep learning researcher Alex Blania in 2019. Its mission is to establish a simple, secure form of human verification in a future where A.I. could blur the line between people and bots online.
Initially called Worldcoin and rebranded as World last year, the project aims to create a unique “World ID” for individuals—verifiable proof of personhood that can also be used for cryptocurrency transactions and other digital services.
World IDs are generated by scans from Orbs, which are currently available in nearly 900 locations worldwide, according to the World website. World aims to deploy 7,500 Orb devices across the U.S. by the end of the year, with the goal of reaching 180 million Americans. Globally, the project already claims 12 million verified World ID holders and ultimately aims for 1 billion users.
How do the Orbs work?
Here’s how the Orbs work: the device takes about 30 seconds to scan a person’s irises, collecting data to generate a World ID and rewarding users with a small amount of the project’s WLD cryptocurrency. Powered by Nvidia (NVDA)’s Jetson chipset, the Orb measures iris patterns rather than more common biometric data like fingerprints, which are more susceptible to external changes.
For the first time, Tools for Humanity will begin assembling some of its Orbs in the U.S., launching a domestic production line in Richardson, Texas. Following the initial rollout in its first six cities, the company plans to expand to Seattle, Orlando, San Diego and Las Vegas. “They will really be everywhere,” said Blania at the launch event. “They’ll be in gas stations, convenience stores—you’ll be able to verify yourself in 10 minutes, basically wherever you are.”
Despite its seemingly wacky premise, World has attracted the backing of major Silicon Valley investors. Since 2019, it has raised more than $240 million from firms including Andreessen Horowitz, khosla ventures, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, according to Crunchbase.
Alongside its U.S. expansion, World also announced two new partnerships aimed at advancing its digital ID vision. A collaboration with Visa will introduce the “World Card” later this year, allowing World ID holders to spend digital assets anywhere Visa is accepted. World is also partnering with Match Group to pilot World ID as an age verification tool for online dating platforms, starting with Tinder (MTCH) users in Japan.
