Report says Tools for Humanity is laying off staff as OpenAI files for IPO

In short: A report says Tools for Humanity, the iris-scanning identity company tied to Sam Altman, is laying off employees as OpenAI files for an IPO.

What happened

OpenAI said it has confidentially filed paperwork for an IPO, which is the process a company uses to prepare to sell shares on the stock market.

Around the same time, Business Insider reported that Tools for Humanity, another company connected to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is doing layoffs. Tools for Humanity is best known for its project called World, previously linked to the Worldcoin cryptocurrency. TechCrunch said it contacted the company for confirmation.

Tools for Humanity promotes a system that scans a person’s iris (the colored part of your eye) to help prove someone is a real person and not a bot (a fake or automated account). It uses a device sometimes described as a silver orb. The company has also positioned this identity check as a way to support activity around its cryptocurrency, Worldcoin.

TechCrunch also notes that Tools for Humanity has faced regulatory and ethical concerns in several places. In some countries, people were reportedly offered the equivalent of about $50 in Worldcoin in exchange for biometric data (body data like an eye scan, similar to a fingerprint). Kenya banned the project over privacy and financial concerns, and South Korea fined the company for allegedly breaking local privacy law.

Why it matters

Identity checks based on eye scans raise sensitive questions about privacy, because you cannot change your biometric data like you can change a password. Layoffs can also be a sign that a company is struggling to make enough money to support its plans.

Source: TechCrunch AI