OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman’s new cryptocurrency project, Worldcoin, recently announced a staggering $115 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz and Coinbase Ventures. Worldcoin aims to create a unique global economic system using biometric scanning as a form of identification and authentication.
The project revolves around a spherical device called an “orb” that would recognize individuals based on measurement of their eyes and verify the uniqueness of the participant. The tokens distributed to people who scanned their eyes using the orb are free of cost.
People have raised concerns about the potential privacy and security issues with such a system, as well as questions about the scalability of the project. Alexander Blania, the co-founder of Worldcoin, has acknowledged these issues and is confident that the project is heading in the right direction. He has assured investors that this project is not intended to replace existing currencies, but to foster and build upon the existing global financial system.
OpenAI is an important artificial intelligence research laboratory established by tech magnates such as Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Jessica Livingston, Peter Thiel, Sikora, and Reid Hoffman. OpenAI works with a non-profit consortium to develop responsible AI practices and deploys machine learning tools and techniques in multiple industries. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman currently heads the Worldcoin project and serves as the public face of the company.
Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and a well-known venture capitalist, is also involved in the Worldcoin project. Hoffman is a Silicon Valley investor who has been an early backer to a range of successful companies, such as Airbnb, Stripe, and Microsoft. He is also known for his philanthropy, notably creating the Impact X Prize, which awards money to innovators working on solutions to global challenges such as poverty and climate change.
