- Worldcoin, co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, secures $115 million from investors.
- The innovative crypto project relies on iris scanning technology for internet IDs.
- Worldcoin’s approach has encountered significant criticism from privacy advocates.
Worldcoin’s eye-scanning technology is raising eyebrows among the public, with many citing privacy concerns. These concerns are not shared by investors, who poured $115 million into Sam Altman’s company.
On Thursday, May 26, Spencer Bogart, CFA at Blockchain Capital, explained why his company led the $115 million funding round. He claimed that he was initially skeptical of the project, but has since changed his perspective.
“I thought Worldcoin was some dystopian Orwellian nightmare,” Bogart said in a Twitter tread. However, once his team evaluated the project, “I completely changed my mind,” he added.
Worldcoin’s Eye-Scanning Tech Brings ‘Dystopian View’ to Mind
Bogart explained that Worldcoin’s aim is to resolve the persistent Sybil problem—an issue of verifying identities online. The ability to distinguish between humans and bots has important use cases in the crypto space.
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They aim to solve this problem using biometrics. Worldcoin does this by scanning users’ irises with a custom hardware device called an “orb” to verify that each user is indeed a unique, living human.
“For good reason, folks get concerned and sensitive when it comes to biometrics,” Bogart conceded to the critics. “Naturally, the dystopian view quickly comes to mind,” he underlined.
These concerns, however, do not apply to Worldcoin, which aims to preserve privacy. Instead of storing biometric data, Worldcoin generates a unique code.
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“Per default, the original biometric is immediately destroyed and the iris code is the only thing that leaves the orb,” Bogart explained.
Bogart explains that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) poses a major problem for identity verification, which Worldcoin solves. Other use cases include token airdrops, enabling companies to identify unique users.
The latest Series C funding round attracted several major investment companies, including a16z, Bain Capital Crypto, and Distributed Global. Earlier, Worldcoin received $100 million in funding in May 2022, at a valuation of $3 billion.
On the Flipside
- While Worldcoin does not usually store iris scans, it does store identifying information. Privacy advocate Edward Snowden pointed that out in his criticism of Worldcoin back in 2021.
- Sam Altman’s crypto startup came under fire for reportedly harvesting biometric data from the world’s poorest to train its model.
Why This Matters
Investors and crypto enthusiasts should keep a close eye on Worldcoin’s progress. For better or worse, the company has the potential to transform how we interact online.
Read more about Sam Altman’s crypto startup and the privacy concerns it raises:
Sam Altman’s Worldcoin: UBI Dream or Privacy Nightmare?
Read about crypto micro-task platform JumpTask:
JumpTask Review: How Much Can You Earn per Month Playing Games?
