Worldcoin, the cryptocurrency initiative that utilizes iris-scanning technology and is led by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has not yet exited the beta phase, it is still drawing in investors. According to three sources familiar with the matter, the Financial Times has stated that Worldcoin is currently engaged in “advanced discussions” regarding a new funding round worth approximately $100 million.
Worldcoin, the crypto project led by OpenAI’s CEO, seeks to secure $100 million in Fresh Funding
Despite being in beta, Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency project led by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and using iris-scanning technology, is continuing to attract investors.
According to the Financial Times, the project is in advanced discussions for a new round of funding worth about $100 million, with both new and existing investors supporting it. In the previous round, venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Khosla Ventures invested in Worldcoin, valuing the project at $3 billion.
The project, which closed a $25 million Series A funding round led by a16z in October 2021, is reportedly preparing for an official launch within the next six weeks.
About Worldcoin
Worldcoin is a global digital currency project co-founded by Sam Altman, a former president of Y Combinator and a prominent entrepreneur. Its aim is to distribute the digital currency to everyone in the world in a fair and equitable manner, creating the world’s largest identity and financial network as a public utility that gives ownership to everyone.
To achieve this goal, the project uses a proof-of-personhood protocol that involves biometric scanning of the recipient’s irises, verified against a government-issued ID to confirm their identity. This ensures that each token is distributed to a unique person.
Recently, the project announced that its World App wallet and World ID, a privacy-focused decentralized identity protocol, will migrate from Polygon to Ethereum’s layer-2 scaling solution Optimism in partnership with Optimism Collective.
With more than 1.6 million sign-ups in beta and 500,000+ monthly active World App users, the deployments on OP Mainnet will expand access and help Worldcoin reach a values-aligned ecosystem of developers and users
Worldcoin Foundation
Despite being in the early stages of development, Worldcoin has already received criticism from Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor who leaked classified information.
Snowden raised ethical concerns about using the human body for a cryptocurrency project and expressed worry that the project plans to create a global database of people’s iris scans, which will be stored as hashes.
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