Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is on the verge of raising more than $100 million for his global crypto ID initiative Worldcoin. According to the Financial Times, Worldcoin is in advanced capital-raising negotiations as its launch in the coming weeks draws nigh.

The initiative intends to develop Worldcoin, a secure global cryptocurrency using iris-scanning technology.

Among Worldcoin’s previous investors are Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto fund, FTX’s creator Sam Bankman-Fried, and the internet entrepreneur Reid Hoffman.

Established in 2019, the company has been developing digital identification technology based on retina-scanning orbs.

In addition, the report stated that a $100 million private token sale early in 2017 valued the total supply of Worldcoin tokens at $3 billion.

Imminent Release of Worldcoin

This year, Worldcoin claimed to have surmounted one million signups and to have between 100 and 200 Orbs operational at any given time.

“It’s a bear market, a crypto winter. It’s remarkable for a project in this space to get this amount of investment,” according to FT sources.

According to the company, the orbs use “iris biometrics to establish an individual’s unique personhood, then create a digital World ID that can be used pseudonymously in a wide variety of everyday applications without revealing the user’s identity.”

gm Miami! The Orb world tour has officially landed in Florida.

Stop into the grand opening of @thecanvasglobal's newest independent web3 & digital creator gallery in Wynwood starting @ 6pm EST to verify your World ID, learn more about the protocol & join the community! pic.twitter.com/OsxMuFLuZd

— Worldcoin (@worldcoin) May 13, 2023

After establishing their identity in the system, users will be eligible to receive complimentary Worldcoin tokens.

However, the initiative has received some criticism regarding biometric privacy concerns. The company has stated that retinal scanning data will not be stored.

According to TechCrunch, multiple Worldcoin Orb operators have already had malware installed on their devices.

Malware that steals passwords, such as the RedLine information thief, had been spotted stealing some of the credentials preserved in browsers, including login information for the Orb operator app.

The Worldcoin Foundation announced on May 11 that it would support the Optimism Collective and integrate the World ID system into the Optimism ecosystem.