Sam Altman’s Worldcoin Unveils Rebranded World Network

Worldcoin co-founders Sam Altman and Timo Blania recently revealed the rebranded World Network, with Worldcoin now simply called "World." During an invite-only event in San Francisco, they made a few important announcements detailing the future vision for digital identity verification.

At the center of World's innovation is the improved version of its flagship iris-scanning device, Orb. This new iteration incorporates Nvidia's advanced chipset, Jetson, and offers a fivefold enhancement in AI processing capability while reducing component needs. Henry Heley, the chief designer, showed the company's ambitious roadmap for Orb’s accessibility, citing that people will soon be able to order Orb’s services to their location using a mobile application, just like ordering food.

While the technology has continued to develop, World’s functionality has grown from its early iris-scanning focus into a range of identification methods. One of the more recent additions is NFC-enabled passport verification which allows people to verify their age and citizenship without compromising privacy. The company also hopes to start moving into mainstream communication platforms, implementing its verification across popular messaging services like FaceTime, WhatsApp and Zoom.

This platform’s mobile application is also undergoing heavy updates, including a new ecosystem of "mini-apps" that would let third-party developers be involved. That shows World is looking at something more like an inclusive digital identity infrastructure than just a verification tool.

Since its launch in July 2023, World has seen phenomenal growth of over 10 million signups, counting seven million verified users worldwide. The co-founders shared optimistic views about growth projections, envisioning an ambitious user base of at least 700 million or higher. "Every two seconds, a person joins the network, and this is still just the beginning," they stated during the pitch.

Following the announcements, WLD lost 5% and is currently trading at $2.12. World boasts a market cap of $1.15 billion and $21.2 billion in fully diluted valuation.