Sam Altman’s World Launches World ID for Zoom
World ID for Zoom Introduces Iris Scanning to Corporate Video Calls
World, the iris-scanning identity project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, launched World ID for Zoom on Sunday to give enterprise customers a way to prove participants are human rather than deepfakes. The system requires scanning faces and irises with a sphere called the Orb. Tools for Humanity, the project’s parent company, is offering to place Orbs directly inside client offices to sign up workers. Initial design partners listed by World include Bain Capital, OpenExchange, Outtake, Pantera Capital, and VanEck Funds.
The Tech TL;DR:
In 2024, an employee at engineering firm Arup transferred $25.6 million after joining a video call where every other participant was a deepfake. Since then, AI has advanced significantly and is making impersonation increasingly convincing, causing challenges for financial… pic.twitter.com/J06gnULw8H
- World ID for Zoom became generally available to Zoom enterprise customers on Sunday, utilizing a 3-way match between an Orb facial capture, a live selfie, and video frames.
- Financial firms and their crypto arms, including Bain Capital and VanEck Funds, are bringing the tool into workplaces and deploying Orbs on-site.
- The system generates a Human badge visible on participant video tiles for 24 hours by default, though employers can extend this period up to 30 days.
Executing a Three-Way Match for Enterprise Security
World ID for Zoom runs a three-way match protocol between the face image captured by the Orb, a live selfie taken in the World ID app using the Face Auth feature first piloted in September 2024, and frames from the active Zoom video feed. According to a sales deck for the product, the Orb image is a signed copy kept on the user’s phone under a system called Personal Custody. When all three checkpoints align, a Human badge appears on the participant’s video tile for everyone on the call to see. A single check keeps the badge active for 24 hours by default, but employers have the administrative option to stretch that duration to 30 days. Tools for Humanity CEO Alex Blania unveiled the product at the Money20/20 fintech conference as part of a broader World ID suite aimed at banks and financial institutions, as noted by The Block.
Financial Backers Align with Token Investments and Office Deployments
Firms adopting the technology have also engaged heavily with the project’s underlying cryptocurrency. A token sale in May 2025 worth $135 million saw participation from Bain Capital Crypto, the investment wing of Bain Capital, while Pantera headed a subsequent $52.5 million WLD offering in July that also included Bain Capital Crypto. WLD is currently down around 95% from its all-time high, according to data from CoinGecko. Despite the token’s market contraction, companies such as Bain Capital and VanEck Funds are integrating the tool into their workplaces. A World spokesperson told Fortune that these financial firms will keep Orbs in their offices to register employees who have not previously scanned their irises. Tiago Sada, World’s chief product officer, told Fortune that users understand they do not have to hand their photos to Sam Altman or anyone at World, citing the project’s open-source code.
Multiple Countries Order Worldcoin to Stop Biometric Data Collection
The project faces an extensive list of international regulatory controversies over biometric data collection. In May 2025, Kenya’s High Court ordered Worldcoin entities to delete biometric data collected in the country. Hong Kong’s privacy commissioner ordered the project to stop scanning in May 2024, ruling the collection of face and iris images unnecessary and excessive. In October 2025, the Philippines’ National Privacy Commission issued a cease-and-desist order after concluding token incentives constituted undue influence that invalidated user consent. Authorities in Spain, Portugal, and Indonesia have also taken action against the project. Concurrently, verified World IDs have surfaced on black markets. In August 2025, crypto investigator ZachXBT posted a screenshot showing verified World ID accounts trading for $5 to $15. An illicit trading network for these credentials emerged in China back in 2023, with the accounts reportedly originating from individuals in Kenya and Cambodia. While features like Face Auth aim to make stolen or borrowed IDs useless on a video call unless the original owner is present, World’s whitepaper concedes it can’t fully stop this kind of misuse.
Disclaimer: The technical analyses and security protocols detailed in this article are for informational purposes only. Always consult with certified IT and cybersecurity professionals before altering enterprise networks or handling sensitive data.