What a difference a week makes? After a dramatic turnaround from being fired to re-hired, Sam Altman has been recognized as “CEO of the Year” by TIME magazine. While Altman’s reputation is closely tied to AI, his Worldcoin project has emerged as a noteworthy venture deserving attention.
Worldcoin took center stage on Wednesday as it unveiled its new grants program. The initiative called Wave0 will provide funding of up to $5 million to bolster developers within its innovative retina-scanning ecosystem.
Administered by the Worldcoin Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to supporting the Worldcoin protocol, this grants program aims to foster the health and growth of the Worldcoin community.
Worldcoin explicitly states that the grants are open to creators, builders, technologists, and organizations contributing to the advancement of the Worldcoin community. The emphasis is on constructing resilient technology and fostering equitable systems, empowering a vibrant community of builders to progress the Worldcoin Tech Tree. The targeted areas include World ID applications, World ID protocols, user agents, hardware, and operations.
The grants will be issued in WLD, the native token for the Worldcoin protocol. Community organizers, event sponsorships, ongoing hackathon projects, and similar initiatives can access up to 5,000 WLD, while larger-scale projects can vie for up to 25,000 WLD. The Open Track Grant, with an undefined budget, is reserved for the most significant and ambitious projects.
Worldcoin Foundation, the non-profit steering the biometric digital identification platform Worldcoin, launched Wave0 with an initial investment of two million Worldcoins (WLD), equivalent to approximately $5 million at the current token price. Notably, Wave0 is focused on projects situated outside the United States.
Worldcoin is advancing decentralization. https://t.co/YLQBJFxUff
— World (@worldnetwork) December 6, 2023
Sam Altman, co-founder of Worldcoin, made headlines in the previous month due to his rapid transition from being ousted as OpenAI’s CEO to regaining the position, ultimately earning the title of Time Magazine’s CEO of the Year.
In a blog post, Worldcoin emphasized the critical role of a robust grants program in fostering the overall health and growth of the Worldcoin community.
The initiative is designed to empower and support builders globally by funding the development and implementation of the community’s most innovative and beneficial projects.
To address regulatory and commercial considerations arising from the program’s global nature, the Worldcoin Foundation may opt to fund certain grants in USDC or similar stablecoin assets, ensuring transparency, sustainability, and regulatory compliance.
Worldcoin’s Wave0 initiative will evaluate projects across three distinct tracks, offering opportunities for community organizers, hackathon projects, and larger-scale endeavors.
Notably, the grants are not available to entities located in the United States. The application window is open until December 22, with recipients set to be announced in January, marking a significant step forward for Worldcoin and its thriving community.
