Sam Altman is working on World to compete with Elon Musk’s X

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Sam Altman is backing a new “everything app” that could directly challenge Elon Musk’s X, according to Alex Blania, the CEO of World, the company behind the project.

The app, which uses iris-scanning technology for identity verification, has already started rolling out a mini app store with services for crypto transactions, microloans, and human-verified chats, according to a report from the WSJ on Monday.

Sam, who co-founded OpenAI, has been deeply involved in the development of World, with Blania confirming that he is a key decision-maker. “He’s involved in essentially every major decision that I make,” Blania told reporters.

World believes that its biometric system could become a critical tool as artificial intelligence advances, making it harder to distinguish between humans and AI bots, per the WSJ report.

World is building an everything app with biometric identity

World has been expanding its iris-scanning network, which relies on a basketball-sized metal device called an Orb to scan users’ irises and verify that they are real humans.

The company has already “verified” over 11 million users worldwide, but its biometric approach has also attracted regulatory scrutiny in multiple countries.

More than a dozen governments have either suspended World’s operations or are investigating the way it collects and stores user data.

Screenshot from Alex Blania’s interview with Bloomberg TV in 2023. Source: Bloomberg TV

Blania insists the system is fully compliant with regulations, though governments aren’t convinced yet. “I know the properties of the system, I’m extremely convinced about its compliance, and about the fact that I think it exceeds the actual expectations of these regulators,” Blania said.

World recently hired a former X executive to lead its privacy division as it navigates these legal battles. One of the first apps in World’s mini app store, called Credit, offers loans ranging from $5 to $100 with no collateral—but bans users who default on payments.

“The World network ensures people can’t create new accounts to bypass bans, since their irises are already registered,” said Diego, the Argentina-based developer of Credit. The app has already signed up 70,000 users since launching in December.

The battle between World and X is coming

Elon has been working to turn X into an everything app, adding payment services and expanding financial tools to make it a central platform for social media, transactions, and communication.

Blania believes World and X will start competing directly within the next year. “I think it will take a while until we seriously collide,” said Blania on Monday.

While World is growing, it has not yet officially launched in the U.S. The company has avoided scanning irises in the country due to regulatory concerns, and it has not allowed Americans to hold its Worldcoin crypto token.

Despite Elon’s massive user base, it’s unclear how many people will trust X with their financial data.

Visa CEO Ryan McInerney confirmed that X’s upcoming Money Account service will integrate with Visa’s payment infrastructure, allowing users to fund their X Wallets with debit cards, though Elon has not provided a specific launch date for all that.

Elon, who co-founded OpenAI with Sam in 2015, claims the company abandoned its original mission to develop open-source artificial intelligence. His lawsuit seeks an injunction to stop OpenAI’s operations and demands damages. OpenAI, though, denies Elon’s accusations.

Elon has publicly slammed Sam multiple times, calling him “Scam Altman” on X and suing OpenAI for fraud, breach of contract, and fiduciary duty.

“I wish he would just compete by building the better product,” Sam told Bloomberg, referring to Elon’s aggressive legal tactics. “But I think there’s been a lot of tactics, many, many lawsuits, all sorts of other crazy stuff… We’ll try to just put our head down and keep working.”

Elon has also accused OpenAI of prioritizing profits over AI safety, a claim the company rejects. OpenAI no longer operates as a nonprofit, and its partnership with Microsoft has further fueled the controversy.

World is betting that its “proof-of-human” system will set it apart from X. The company claims its biometric iris scans do not store personal identity information, only verifying that a user is human.

But privacy concerns remain, and many governments (like Spain, France, Germany, Kenya, Portugal and the UK) are investigating World’s data handling practices.

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