Tools for Humanity, the eyeball-scanning startup co-founded by Sam Altman, is laying off employees, according to an internal email viewed by Business Insider.
The company has struggled to show how its iris-scanning “Orb” can generate revenue and win over regulators, despite a $2.5 billion valuation and millions of sign-ups. Investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital, and Khosla Ventures have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the venture, according to PitchBook.
“As we enter the next step of our company strategy and operating priorities, we have made the hard decision to make changes to some roles and teams across the company,” Tools for Humanity said in the email, which was sent to staffers Monday from the people team. The company will share details on its strategy and next steps in a town hall meeting on Tuesday, the email said.
It’s unclear how many employees would be affected by the layoffs. Tools for Humanity employs more than 500 people, according to its website. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tools for Humanity was founded on the idea of using iris scans to prove a person is human and not an AI bot. The startup’s Orb—a shiny, volleyball-sized sphere—scans irises to generate a digital ID. People who participate can receive tokens of Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency distributed by the Cayman Island-based World Foundation.
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