Worldcoin, the startup co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is undergoing a significant rebranding by shedding the “coin” from its name. The company is pivoting its focus away from cryptocurrency and towards the enhancement of its identity verification technology. In line with this shift, the startup has also revealed an updated version of its hallmark device.
As reported by Bloomberg, the newly rebranded company, now known simply as World, is honing in on its eye-scanning technology to authenticate identities. This technology is particularly relevant in today’s digital landscape, where deepfake videos are becoming increasingly prevalent on the internet.
Alex Blania, the co-founder and CEO of World, showcased the latest iteration of the company’s device, the Orb. This biometric eye scanner is part of World’s identity service called Deep Face, which is designed to accurately confirm human identities. The new model of the Orb is powered by NVIDIA’s Jetson chipset and will be made available to customers based on demand.
Rich Heley, the Chief Device Officer, likened the distribution model to ordering pizza, emphasizing the on-demand availability of the Orb at a San Francisco event. A statement from the company elaborated on the device’s potential, indicating that the advancements will enable World ID’s proof of human verification to be more widely accessible across the globe.
World’s website states that nearly 7 million individuals have already been scanned by World Orbs. In a promotional gesture, every attendee at the San Francisco launch event was gifted a free Orb to meet their human identification requirements.
