OpenAI's ChatGPT has taken the world by storm. Since its launch in November last year, ChatGPT has brought forth the potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI). Most global tech firms are now adopting the technology, which may also lead to a sharp cut in personnel costs. After AI, OpenAI boss Sam Altman is now eyeing to disrupt the crypto industry.
According to a report by The Financial Times (FT), Altman is close to securing $100 million in funding for Worldcoin, a project aimed at creating a globally distributed cryptocurrency using iris-scanning technology.
Founded by Altman and Alex Blania in 2019, Worldcoin is expected to launch in a few weeks.
The list of investors in the company includes names like Khosla Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz's crypto fund, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and internet entrepreneur Reid Hoffman.
The company aims to use eyeball-scanning technology to create a global identification system, which can be used to gain access to its own global currency, Worldcoin. According to the company, its key plan is to come up with a platform that "uses iris biometrics to establish an individual’s unique personhood, then creates a digital World ID that can be used pseudonymously in a wide variety of everyday applications without revealing the user's identity."
Once users have established their identity, they can receive free Worldcoin tokens.
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The development, according to experts cited in the FT report, is significant given the winter crypto industry is going through. Since the fall of FTX last year, the crypto market cap has seen a sharp fall and for months now, has failed to recover.
On May 8, Worldcoin launched its World App. "You can use it to prove your personhood online with World ID, claim your Worldcoin tokens, and send digital money globally for free," it said in a tweet. It also launched a crypto wallet for verified users on the app.
The FT report also said that the company may begin recording transactions in the "next six weeks".
