OpenAI files for IPO as Tools for Humanity cuts staff

On Monday, OpenAI announced that it has confidentially filed for an Initial Public Offering (IPO), marking what could become one of the defining public offerings of the decade. However, as OpenAI prepares for its transition to public markets, its chief executive Sam Altman is facing headwinds at his other venture. Tools for Humanity, where Altman serves as co-founder and chairman, is reportedly conducting layoffs, according to a report by Business Insider.

Tools for Humanity is best known as the developer of the World project, an identity verification initiative centered around a physical iris-scanning device. The project utilizes what has been characterized as a “creepy silver orb” to capture biometric data—specifically, high-resolution scans of human irises. The company’s stated goal is to establish unique digital identities, helping to distinguish human users from automated bots in an increasingly automated world that Tools for Humanity co-founder and chairman Altman is constructing. Additionally, Tools for Humanity would use these iris scans to validate people’s identities to support the trade of its own cryptocurrency, Worldcoin.

These “vague, suspicious ambitions” previously enabled Tools for Humanity to secure a $2.5 billion valuation, drawing backing from investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital, and other funds backing blockchain companies. However, the company is reportedly struggling to create revenue, prompting the current staff reductions. While Tools for Humanity has secured partnerships in the U.S. with companies like Tinder, Zoom, and Docusign on Altman’s side project, these domestic integrations contrast with the company’s regulatory challenges abroad. Internationally, its operations have encountered severe regulatory and ethical concerns. In Kenya, India, and Hong Kong, people were offered the equivalent of $50 in Worldcoin in exchange for their biometric data. This practice led Kenya to ban World from operating in the country over privacy and financial concerns, while South Korea fined the company $830,000 for allegedly violating local privacy law.

Why it matters

The divergence between OpenAI’s public market ambitions and the operational struggles of Altman’s secondary venture underscores the high-stakes, often volatile nature of the current AI and biometric-verification landscape.