A new name and an updated Orb have been given to Sam Altman’s eyeball-scanning crypto project

Worldcoin, the ambitious cryptocurrency, human identity, and UBI project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has rebranded itself as “World.” Alongside the name change, World has unveiled an updated version of its Orb, an eyeball-scanning device designed to verify that a user is human, a task it claims will become increasingly relevant “in the age of AI.”

By registering with World, individuals receive a World ID, enabling them to anonymously and securely prove their human identity online. Additionally, participants can claim a portion of World’s associated cryptocurrency, WLD. The new iteration of the Orb is designed to be more efficient, utilizing 30% fewer components than its predecessor, which should lower production costs and simplify construction. The device also incorporates Nvidia’s Jetson platform for AI and robotics, though the exact purpose of this enhancement remains unclear.

During an event, Rich Heley, Chief Device Officer at Tools for Humanity—the organization behind the World initiative—emphasized the need for significantly more Orbs to expand global access. We require additional Orbs in order to give access to all people. Many more Orbs. There were perhaps a thousand times as many Orbs as there are now, Heley clarified. To achieve this, World plans to increase production and distribution, offering people the option to buy or rent their own Orbs to verify unique human identities within their communities.

World is also introducing a new service called “Orb on Demand,” which will allow users to request an Orb much like ordering a pizza for delivery, as Heley humorously noted. The Orb is set to expand its availability to more countries, including Costa Rica, Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, the UAE, and Morocco.

Despite the growth in its ID services, available in the U.S., World’s cryptocurrency token is still restricted in the country. According to journalist Alex Heath, who participated in a World scan last summer, nearly 7 million “unique humans” have been verified through the system, although privacy concerns have arisen around the creation of a private, biometric-based global database.

World has faced some scrutiny abroad. Last year, Kenya temporarily suspended the project while investigating its data collection practices, though the inquiry has since been dropped. Meanwhile, authorities in Hong Kong have halted World’s operations due to privacy risks, and both Spain and Portugal have taken similar actions.