‘We need more Orbs. Lots more Orbs’: Worldcoin rebrands as World in massive push

Worldcoin is now World, and it is absolutely determined to put its biometric-scanning Orbs everywhere: this is the key message from today’s big announcement from its originator Tools for Humanity. Declaring “scale” to be the big theme, TFH CEO Alex Bania says the company is launching a new version of the Orb and an update to its World ID digital identity as part of a major push to scale the operation that will see production capacity triple.

The company believes “there aren’t enough Orbs.” Variously described as “a bit of a temple,” “incredibly beautiful” and “designed from the ground up with scale in mind,” the new Orb model can perform verifications five times faster, have 30 percent fewer parts and can be assembled at twice the speed. Moreover, it wants to achieve truly decentralized manufacturing, and is aiming for more transparency. The open source code can be audited, and a fully removable SD card contains operating instructions.

In terms of numbers, World is expanding into more countries and building “flagship locations” in cities such as Buenos Aires and Mexico City. The company calls these “premium verification experiences,” where people can enter a circular cell filled with Orbs and get a guided enrolment.

Self-serve orbs will be deployed at retail locations; imagine scanning your irises when you stop to get a latte. These, the firm says, are “key partnerships for scaling.”

And, “if you don’t want to find an orb, that’s okay.” A new service will offer Orbs on demand, wherein users can “request an orb with the touch of a button, much like ordering a pizza.” World has even partnered with delivery app Rappi in South America.

Finally, it is pushing everyone to become a “community operator,” meaning you can have an Orb delivered to your door to register your friends and neighbors’ iris biometrics. “Anyone can rent  or buy the new orb to verify anyone in their community,” it says (going so far as to stage an Oprah moment during its announcement, decaring “Everyone in the place gets an Orb!”).

World amps up wallet, digital credentials, adds deepfake detection tool

The scale-up also involves the beta launch of World ID Credentials in select countries, which sees Worldcoin get into the mDL, passport and mobile digital credential arena and attempt to partner with governments on national ID projects. As well, the company is rolling out the World ID Deep Face SDK, adding to the growing pool of deepfake detection tools. A beta is now available.

On top of this, the company says World Chain is launching today with 15 million users, making it “the largest blockchain of humans on day one.” The grants program for developers has been given an infusion of 50 million WLD. The World App crypto wallet is getting an update in World App 3.0, “a super app for humans” which has been “redesigned to make the Worldcoin network more usable in your day-to-day life” and to hold World ID Credentials and “Mini Apps” like World Chat – and, of course, World Pay.

And in the decentralized ID arena, it has developed what it calls “anonymized multi-party computation” (AMPC), a key attribute of which is the ability to take a piece of data and know whether it is unique, but know nothing else about that piece of data on an individual basis.

In short, Worldcoin and Tools for Humanity want their protocol to be and do (and link) everything to do with digital ID, identity verification, digital payment wallets, decentralized identity, apps and the blockchain. Its grandiose ambition is on a scale that will do little to dissuade regulators who see the company sharing a few too many goals with a James Bond villain seeking world domination.

Worldcoin’s stated goals have always been framed as benefits to humanity. Altman says World offers as a way to distinguish real people from virtual ones: “the anonymous human layer for the internet” that provides the infrastructure enabling humans and AI agents to communicate with one another. “When in doubt, scale it up,” he says, conveniently putting aside that he  is also in the process of scaling the AI that he claims makes World necessary. He speaks of “exponential curves” and “platform shifts” and the World protocol becoming “one of those important new pieces of technological infrastructure for the world.” Regulators may cry foul. But Altman is not going to stop. He wants the World.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital wallets  |  iris biometrics  |  Tools for Humanity  |  World  |  World ID  |  World ID Orb