Sam Altman’s startup Tools For Humanity is cutting jobs because its iris scanner “Orb” cannot find a business model despite being valued at billions.
The iris scan startup Tools For Humanity, co-founded by Sam Altman, is cutting jobs. This emerges from an internal email that our colleagues at Business Insider US have received.
The company apparently has problems showing how its iris scanner “Orb” is supposed to make money at all – and at the same time convince regulators. This is particularly noticeable because the startup has already acquired millions of users despite a valuation of $2.5 billion. Investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital and Khosla Ventures have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into it, according to PitchBook.
Now it’s being rebuilt
“As we now move into the next phase of our corporate strategy and operational priorities, we have made the difficult decision to make changes to some roles and teams across the company,” Tools For Humanity said in the email sent to employees by the human resources team on Monday. The company will announce details of its strategy and next steps at a staff meeting on Tuesday, the email said.
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It is unclear how many employees will be affected by the layoffs. According to its website, Tools For Humanity employs more than 500 people. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
When the iris becomes an ID card
Tools For Humanity was founded with the idea of using an iris scan to prove that someone is a real human – and not an AI bot. To do this, the startup uses the “Orb”, a shiny ball the size of a volleyball that scans the iris and uses it to create a digital identity. As an incentive, users sometimes receive tokens from Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency issued by the World Foundation based in the Cayman Islands.
