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

OpenAI announced Monday that it has secretly filed for an initial public offering, marking what could become one of the defining public offerings of the decade. Then there’s another company under OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Tools for Humanity, which is reportedly making layoffs, 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 questionable ambitions were enough to raise $2.5 billion in funds from investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital, and other funds backing blockchain companies. But the company is now said to be downsizing as it struggles to generate revenue.

In the US, companies like Tinder, Zoom and Docusign have been involved in Altman’s side project. Internationally, Tools for Humanity has faced regulatory and ethical concerns. In Kenya, India and Hong Kong, for example, people have been offered the equivalent of $50 in Worldcoin in exchange for their biometric data. Kenya later banned World from operating in the country, citing privacy and financial concerns; Meanwhile, South Korea fined the company $830,000 for allegedly violating a 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.