Sam Altman’s startup, formerly known as Worldcoin, has decided to drop “coin” from its name as it pivots its focus from cryptocurrency to identification technology. The company, now simply called “World,” aims to enhance its identity verification capabilities, which could prove useful in combating deep fake videos prevalent on the internet.
Co-founder and CEO Alex Blania introduced World’s newest device, the Orb, at a recent event in San Francisco. The Orb is a biometric eye scanner designed to confirm human identities through an identity service named Deep Face. This latest model of the Orb, powered by NVIDIA’s Jetson chipset, will be distributed to customers as needed. At the event, Chief Device Officer Rich Heley likened the distribution method to ordering pizza, emphasizing the ease and accessibility of obtaining the device. A statement from the company highlighted advancements that would facilitate the provision of World ID’s human verification services in more locations globally.
According to the company’s website, approximately 7 million people have had their identities scanned by World Orbs so far. Attendees at the San Francisco launch event received a complimentary Orb to address their identity verification needs.
