The San Francisco- and Berlin-based startup announced the international rollout of its technology and services in 35 cities across 20 countries in a bid to “be the world’s largest, most inclusive identity and financial public utility, owned by everyone.”

Central to the project is the firm’s digital identity protocol, World ID — an account only humans are able to receive. To be eligible for a World ID, users must undergo an in-person iris scan via its physical “Orb” to verify the person’s “uniqueness and humanness.” Once verified by the Orb, a World ID account is created for the user.

Alongside a World ID, verified users have access to World App, the protocol-compatible wallet, and the Worldcoin token (WLD), a cryptocurrency which is transactable on the blockchain and is “the first digital currency to be freely distributed to people for just being a unique human.”

“Through its unique technology, Worldcoin aims to provide anyone in the world, regardless of background, geography or income, access to the growing digital and global economy in a privacy preserving and decentralized way,” said Worldcoin co-founder and Tools for Humanity CEO Alex Blania.

According to Worldcoin, two million people have purportedly signed up for a World ID already, and more than 40,000 people a week have been verified as human over the last six months of the project’s beta phase. The number of Orbs available is planned to increase to 1,500 this summer, which “will more than 5x sign up capacity globally.”

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The firm’s eyeball-scanning technology, which is developed by Blania’s Tools for Humanity — a company built to “ensure a more just economic system” — is a particularly interesting aspect of the project amid the rapid development of artificial intelligence, and the growing indecipherability of AI and robots from humans in the digital sphere.

“In the age of AI, the need for proof of personhood is no longer a topic of serious debate; instead, the critical question is whether or not the proof of personhood solutions we have can be privacy-first, decentralized and maximally inclusive,” said Blania.

In a statement, the company noted: “If successful, Worldcoin’s global decentralized identity and financial network could drastically increase economic opportunity, scale a reliable and privacy-preserving way to distinguish humans from AI online, enable global democratic processes and eventually show a potential path for AI-funded universal basic income (UBI).”

The official launch and international rollout of the project comes after more than three years of work. Earlier this year, in May, the firm raised $115 million (£89m~) in a Series C funding round, led by Blockchain Capital and including a16z, Bain Capital Crypto, and Distributed Global. In March 2022, the firm had a valuation of $3 billion (£2.3b~).