Tools for Humanity, a startup cofounded by Sam Altman is laying off staff after struggling to generate steady revenue from its iris scanning technology, even after raising billions and signing up millions of users.
The company is best known for World, an identity system that uses a device called the Orb to scan people’s irises. The goal is to prove that someone is human, not a bot, and to support trading of its Worldcoin cryptocurrency.
Tools for Humanity was founded in 2019 by Alex Blania with Sam Altman, CEO,OpenAI as the chairman. The company had raised $240 million in late 2024 and had reached a $2.5 billion valuation. It has more than 500 employees.
Despite the funding and user growth, Tools for Humanity has struggled to show how the Orb can generate revenue and has faced regulatory pushback in several countries. Kenya has banned World from operating, citing privacy and financial concerns. South Korea has fined the company $830,000 for allegedly violating local privacy law.
According to an internal HR email sent to the staff on 8 June,2026, the company was reportedly making “changes to some roles and teams” as it entered the next stage of its strategy. The company has stayed quiet about how many people will be affected.
Interestingly, OpenAI, Altman’s other company, has reportedly confidentially filed for a US IPO. In the US, partners such as Tinder, Zoom, and Docusign have tested World’s verification tech, but international growth has been slowed by ethical and privacy concerns.