PeopleofSuperintelligence

Builder

Alex Blania

Alex Blania builds identity tools for an internet where AI systems can imitate people. He studied physics and industrial engineering at FAU, then researched AI in quantum computing before co-founding Tools for Humanity in 2019. Its Worldcoin project launched in 2023 and became World in 2024, with World ID and Orb updates aimed at human verification as AI advanced. A London rollout followed in 2025, when TIME named him to its TIME100 AI list; in January 2026, he co-founded Merge Labs, a brain-computer interface research lab. As of October 2026, he is Tools for Humanity’s CEO.

Now at
Tools for Humanity
Photo of Alex Blania

Timeline

  1. By 2019

    From physics to AI

    He studied physics and industrial engineering at FAU, then researched deep learning and AI in quantum computing at the Max Planck Institute and Cal Tech’s Institute for Quantum Information and Matter. He left his studies to work on Tools for Humanity, which he co-founded with Sam Altman in 2019.

  2. July 2023

    Proof of a person

    Worldcoin went live with its World ID SDK and plans to scale Orb operations across 35-plus cities in 20-plus countries. Blania was a project co-founder and Tools for Humanity’s CEO.

  3. October 2024

    A new World

    At a San Francisco event, he and Sam Altman introduced World as Worldcoin’s new name and announced World ID 3.0, Mini Apps in World App 3.0 and a more scalable Orb. The announcement framed human verification as infrastructure for a future shaped by AI.

  4. June 2025

    Iris scans reach London

    Tools for Humanity brought Orb scanning to London and presented iris verification as a way to prove people are human as AI systems became more adept at mimicking them.

  5. 2025

    A TIME100 AI selection

    TIME named him among its 100 most influential people in AI for 2025.

  6. January 2026

    A lab for brain interfaces

    He co-founded Merge Labs, a research lab developing brain-computer interfaces that interact with the brain at high bandwidth and integrate with advanced AI.

  7. As of October 2026

    Leading Tools for Humanity

    He is co-founder and CEO of Tools for Humanity.

Sources and credits

Photo: TechCrunch, via Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY 2.0. Source: commons.wikimedia.org. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.

  1. FAU Alumni #MyStory: Alex Blania, CEO Tools for Humanity | FAU fau.eu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Alex Blania - Foresight Institute foresight.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. Tools for Humanity toolsforhumanity.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. Worldcoin project launches world.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. Hello World: The 5 key announcements from the new world event in San Francisco world.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Sam Altman’s eye-scanning identity tech expands to U.K. fortune.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. O que pensa Alex Blania, um dos 100 nomes mais influentes da IA, segundo a Time | Exame exame.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  8. Introducing Merge Labs merge.io. Checked 14 October 2026.
  9. Alex Blania on Proof of Human and Building World’s Identity Network a16z.com. Checked 14 October 2026.