Worldcoin, the company of Sam Altman, has announced the launch of a community grant programme, allocating an initial funding of 2 million WLD (~$4.8 million at the time of writing).
The Worldcoin Foundation has launched its Community Grants Program.https://t.co/bWb3jdl69V
— Worldcoin (@worldcoin) December 6, 2023
The initiative features three tracks:
- Community grants (up to 5,000 WLD) — for organizers of events, hackathons and other similar gatherings;
- Project grants (up to 25,000 WLD) — for companies that submitted a request for development funding;
- Open-type grants (no set budget) — for the most “significant and ambitious projects”.
Funds are provided to startups working on applications and the World ID protocol itself, as well as hardware for the platform.
The company also proposed focusing on privacy services, identity-verification software development and “user experience”.
Applications for grants can be submitted from 6 to 22 December, and winners will be announced in January 2024.
“A robust grant programme is essential for the overall health and growth of the Worldcoin community. It expands opportunities and supports creators from around the world, funding the development and implementation of the most interesting, creative and useful community projects,” according to the press release.
The project’s main product—the World ID protocol—is based on zero-knowledge proofs. It is a tool that enables identity verification using biometric data or a phone number.
Earlier, Altman acknowledged the existence of issues at Worldcoin. In his view, operational processes and overcoming resistance to collecting biometric data remain challenging tasks.
Following the project’s launch, authorities in the the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Kenya and Argentina expressed interest in its activities.