As OpenAI files for IPO, Sam Altman’s eye-scanning company lays off workers, report says

OpenAI announced Monday that it is confidential Submitted for public subscriptionmarking what would become one of the defining public performances of the decade. Then there’s another company by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Tools for humanitywhich is reportedly laying off workers, according to Business insider. TechCrunch has reached out to the company for confirmation.

You’re probably best known for Tools for Humanity by its verification project known as “The Scientist” — and its associated device, a creepy silver orb that wants to scan your eyeballs. The idea is that the company will be able to verify people’s identities using unique iris scans, helping to distinguish between human activity and robot activity in the increasingly automated world that Tools for Humanity co-founder and CEO Altman is building. The company will also use these checks to verify people’s identities to support trading of its cryptocurrency, Worldcoin.

These vague and dubious ambitions were enough for Collect money In a $2.5 billion valuation From investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital, and other funds that back blockchain companies. But now it is said that the company Downsizing While struggling to create revenue.

In the United States, such as companies TinderBoth Zoom and Docusign have partnered on Altman’s side project. At the international level, I encountered Tools for Humanity Regulatory and ethical concerns. In Kenya, India and Hong Kong, for example, people have been offered the equivalent $50 in Worldcoin In exchange for obtaining their biometric data. Kenya later banned World from operating in the country, citing privacy and financial concerns; Meanwhile, South Korea imposed a fine of $830,000 on the company Allegedly violated Local privacy law.

Who would have thought? People don’t feel comfortable giving their biometric data to a startup in exchange for $50 worth of cryptocurrency.