Amid the ongoing preparations for its upcoming Initial Public Offering (IPO) for OpenAI, Sam Altman founded eyeball-scanning startup "Tools for Humanity"
is gearing up for layoffs. The startup is best known for World, formerly known as Worldcoin, a project that uses a silver orb-shaped device to scan users’ irises and create a unique digital identity. The motto of the startup was that the technology can help distinguish humans from AI-powered bots online as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly widespread. A report by Business Insider, citing an internal email, said, “As we enter the next step of our company strategy and operating priorities, we have made the hard decision to make changes to some roles and teams across the company.” The startup has attracted significant investor interest, raising funding at a reported $2.5 billion valuation from backers including Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital. However, despite its ambitious vision, the company has struggled to overcome privacy concerns and regulatory hurdles in several markets. Reports have also suggested that Tools for Humanity is under pressure to establish a sustainable business model while expanding globally. It has partnered with firms such as Tinder, Zoom, and DocuSign in the United States, but widespread adoption of its identity verification platform remains a challenge.
OpenAI IPO:
OpenAI has confidentially filed for a US initial public offering joining rival Anthropic in a push toward a stock market listing.
The maker of Chat GPT did not disclose the size or terms of the offering, and said a timeline has not yet been determined. "It may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company," it said in a statement.
The estimated valuation of the company is $850 billion to $1.1 trillion with the estimated listing window by end of 2026.
According to KPMG, global IPO activity raised $42.6 billion across 251 transactions in the first quarter of 2026, a 45% year-on-year (YoY) increase in proceeds, even as deal volume contracted 15% YoY.
