The eyeball-scanning crypto startup founded by ChatGPT creator Sam Altman is reportedly on the hunt for a lead investor to raise up to $120 million

Florence Fu/Tech Insider

• Sam Altman's Worldcoin is in talks to raise up to $120 million, The Block reported.
• The Andreeseen-backed crypto project is targeting sovereign funds as a lead investor. 
• Worldcoin has come under fire over privacy concerns as a fledgling startup that's gathering loads of personal biometric data.

Worldcoin, the controversial eyeball-scanning crypto startup cofounded by ChatGPT creator Sam Altman, is in talks to secure a fresh financing round.

The project is trying to raise up to $120 million at a $3 billion valuation, according to The Block, citing a source familiar with the matter. The crypto unicorn is seeking a lead investor, the report says, including deep-pocketed backers like a sovereign wealth fund.

The financing round will be structured as a sale of equity plus token warrants, people familiar said. 

Founded in 2020, Worldcoin wants to give every living human crypto by scanning the irises of everyone on earth. This is done in order to identify users so the company can distribute its tokens fairly. Worldcoin has reportedly scanned the eyes nearly half a million people all over the world, BuzzFeed reported last April.

Worldcoin's tactics have drawn criticism over privacy concerns of a fledgling startup that gathers personal biometric data from large swaths of people. There's reportedly been a series of setbacks for Worldcoin, including delays in its public launch, suspending operations in various countries, and a slew of users complaints.

In March of 2022, Worldcoin CEO Alex Blania said in an interview with Bloomberg that these obstacles are the result of a new startup that's still experimenting. 

"You're still talking to a Series A company, not an Uber," Blania told the news outlet. "Things are not perfect."

Worldcoin secured a Series A raise last year, with backing from well-known investors like Andreeseen Horowitz, Coinbase's venture capital arm, and the cofounder of LinkedIn.

Worldcoin did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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