Alex Blania announces Merge Labs, a new research lab co-founded with Sam Altman, which has raised a $250 million seed round directly from OpenAI to bridge biological and artificial intelligence via high-bandwidth brain-computer interfaces.
Worldcoin's mission is to establish a "proof-of-human" network to differentiate humans from AI, as Blania predicts 99.9% of internet traffic will soon be AI-driven, making platforms like X unusable without such solutions.
Worldcoin has achieved significant scale with 37 million total users and 17 million verified via its Orb, making its WorldApp the largest crypto wallet by user count, with integrations live on platforms like Tinder Japan.
The core strategy addresses major misconceptions, emphasizing that its biometric system is designed to be fundamentally anonymous and privacy-preserving, with a business model based on network fees, not user data.
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Concerns Raised
Public misconceptions around privacy and the use of biometrics for Worldcoin.
The potential for AI misalignment, though the speaker is optimistic it can be solved.
The immense challenge of scaling Worldcoin to hundreds of millions or billions of users to achieve its mission.
Opportunities Identified
Establishing WorldID as the default 'proof-of-human' standard across the internet.
Developing the next major computing platform with high-bandwidth brain-computer interfaces.
Leveraging the WorldApp to become the dominant financial and social network for verified humans.
Deep collaboration with OpenAI to advance research in biology, chips, and AI systems through Merge Labs.