OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s biometric identity startup, World, is set to debut its eye-scanning authentication technology in the United Kingdom starting Thursday, June 12. The company’s signature product, the Orb a spherical device that scans users’ irises will first be available in London, with planned expansions to Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Belfast, and Glasgow in the coming months.
World’s technology offers an alternative to conventional digital verification tools such as CAPTCHAs and facial recognition. By scanning the unique patterns in an individual’s iris, the Orb creates a secure, privacy-preserving digital identity, intended to combat identity fraud and bot infiltration — problems that have grown more urgent with the rise of AI-generated deepfakes and scams.
The UK rollout comes amid growing global interest in biometric solutions, particularly from enterprise clients and governments looking for more robust digital identity verification methods. According to company sources, demand for Orb-based authentication has increased sharply as AI-driven cyberthreats become more sophisticated.
Unlike many biometric systems that store raw biometric data, World emphasizes privacy by converting iris scans into a secure numerical code, which the company claims cannot be reverse-engineered. This is part of the company’s strategy to allay public concerns about surveillance and misuse of personal data.
World’s UK expansion could mark a major step forward for biometric authentication in Europe, a region known for its stringent privacy regulations. The company says it will comply fully with the UK’s Data Protection Act and the GDPR framework to ensure ethical data handling and transparency.
Critics, however, have raised questions about the long-term implications of biometric systems, including the potential for exclusion, surveillance, and ethical misuse. As World deploys its Orbs across the UK, the reception from regulators, privacy advocates, and the general public will likely shape the future of biometric identity technologies.
With an ambitious vision to create a more secure digital world, World is banking on iris-scanning as the next frontier in user authentication and the UK is now its latest testing ground.
