Sam Altman’s World App Adds Payments Features Within Chat

World, an organization co-founded by Sam Altman, has updated its app to include a native chat function, payments and third-party apps.

The new World App began rolling out in more than 100 countries Friday (Dec. 12), the company said in a blog post.

World manufactures an eyeball-scanning device called the Orb that generates unique IDs that let users access the group’s Worldcoin token.

The new World Chat function of the company’s app allows users to text friends, create groups, and share photos and videos, according to the post. In addition, in a feature enabled by Orb photos, the app displays messages from “verified humans” in blue bubbles, while other messages appear in gray bubbles.

The new app also enables users to move digital assets in transfers that are “borderless, instant and free,” the post said. Users can send or request payments in chats, split bills in group chats, and wrap payments as gifts with custom animations.

In some countries, users can access virtual accounts powered by Bridge.

In addition, the World App now enables mini apps to run inside message threads, creating interactive experiences for users, per the post. Third-party apps now available in this way include the prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket, games and savings tools.

“The World App brings together proof of human, borderless finance and an open platform — all in one place,” World said in its post. “Where humans connect, transact and build together.”

Worldcoin was founded in 2019 by Altman and Alex Blania, aiming to use its eyeball-scanning technology to launch a worldwide identification system that would let every person in the world access cryptocurrency.

In 2023, the organization launched the World App as a digital wallet designed to expand the availability of digital identity and global finance. World said at the time that the app was designed for the Worldcoin ecosystem and could be used to authenticate with a World ID, get Worldcoin tokens and send digital money anywhere.

World initially launched its product outside the United States, in part because the Biden administration had cracked down on the crypto sector, but it made its U.S. debut in May as the Trump administration is taking a pro-crypto stance.