Sam Altman’s crypto venture Worldcoin has signed a deal with Malaysia’s research arm to integrate its technology into the country’s digital infrastructure.

The Worldcoin Foundation, Tools for Humanity, and MyEG have signed a memorandum of understanding with MIMOS Berhad, the Malaysian government’s research and development arm, to integrate its biometrics technology into Malaysian infrastructure.

In an Aug. 16 blog announcement, the foundation revealed that Malaysia plans to leverage the Worldcoin (WLD) protocol and TFH technologies to “improve ongoing and future work related to digital credentials.” The partnership will also introduce Worldcoin’s iris imaging technology to Malaysia, allowing individuals to undergo humanness verification.

“The Worldcoin Foundation will work to ensure that its technology is open source and freely available, while TFH will provide technical expertise and support for both the Orb and World App.”

The Worldcoin Foundation

Under the agreement, the parties have pledged to jointly manufacture Worldcoin’s orb devices, integrate with Malaysia’s National Blockchain Infrastructure, and contribute from MyEG in technical integration and hardware deployment.

Worldcoin expands internationally despite privacy concerns

The latest agreement follows Worldcoin’s recent expansion into Europe and Latin America. Worldcoin’s proof of personhood system, which uses iris scans to create unique biometric identifiers, is already operational in Germany and recently expanded its services to Austria with new verification locations in Vienna. The foundation says over 6.4 million humans so far “have verified their humanness globally with Worldcoin.”

Despite these advancements, Worldcoin also faced privacy-related challenges. The project encountered regulatory issues in Hong Kong, Portugal, and Spain over concerns about the handling of biometric data. Nevertheless, Worldcoin continues to expand internationally and attract investor support.

Founded in 2019 by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, alongside Max Novendstern and Alex Blania, Worldcoin secured $115 million in a series C funding round in May 2023. Blockchain Capital led the round, which also included Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital Crypto, and Distributed Global.