Sam Altman's Eye-Scanning Orb Is Now Coming to the US

Sam Altman’s iris-scanning, identify-verification technology startup is expanding to the US, and will attempt to bridge the divide between blockchain-based financial networks and the payment services most often used here. Altman and Alex Blania, a German physics researcher, announced at an event in San Francisco this evening that their venture-backed company, Tools for Humanity, is updating its “World” products—and announcing a series of high-profile partnerships with companies including Visa and Match Group. Courtesy of Tools for Humanity World first launched as Worldcoin in July 2024, the brainchild of Altman, Blania, and Max Novendstern, who is no longer at the company. Blania serves as CEO, while Altman remains his most prominent backer. As of March 2025 the company had raised $240 million in venture capital funding from bold-name firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Bain Capital, and Coinbase Ventures, as well as individual investors like Reid Hoffma ... Read full article.