Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, is apparently in “advanced talks” to raise $100 million for the Worldcoin project, which aims to develop a globally distributed cryptocurrency that is cooperatively owned.
According to a Financial Times article from May 15 that quoted sources familiar with Worldcoin’s funding discussions, the $100 million will come from a combination of “existing and new investors.”
When the firm was first made public, it had a Series A fundraising round headed by a16z, with participation from investors such as former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Coinbase Ventures, Digital Currency Group, and Reid Hoffman.
According to a March 2022 article in The Information, which cited two persons with knowledge of the situation, the company was allegedly raising $100 million from investors through a private token sale.
One source with knowledge of the situation noted in the most recent report that the potential fresh money was considerable given the prolonged crypto winter. It’s a crypto winter and a bear market. The person said that a project in this field to receive this much funding is exceptional.
Max Novendstern, Alex Blania, and Altman are the co-founders of Worldcoin, and work on the venture officially started in early 2020. According to Worldcoin executives, the project’s goal is to “tackle two problems” brought on by the development of artificial intelligence.
In the meantime, Worldcoin, which has been functioning in beta, is getting ready to deploy its blockchain protocol and start recording transactions within “the next six weeks.” Worldcoin debuted its own gas-free cryptocurrency wallet for verified humans on May 8. According to Tiago Sada, a member of the Worldcoin team, the wallet was created so “there is an alternative wallet that is focused just on simplicity.”
