Apr 17, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs designated hiter Moises Ballesteros (25) rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run against the New York Mets during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Moises Ballesteros hit a three-run homer to cap a four-run first inning for the host Chicago Cubs, who continued surging Friday afternoon with a 12-4 win over the free-falling New York Mets.
The Cubs have scored at least 10 runs in each of their last three games, all victories — the longest streak for the club since Sept. 13-15, 2019.
The Mets have lost nine straight, a span in which they’ve been outscored 56-16. The losing streak is the longest for New York since an 11-game skid from Aug. 28-Sept. 8, 2004.
Seiya Suzuki laced an RBI single off Kodai Senga (0-3) one pitch before Ballesteros homered to left. The Mets responded with a three-run second against Edward Cabrera (2-0), who gave up an RBI double to Marcus Semien and a two-run single to Tyrone Taylor, who was thrown out trying to extend the hit into a double.
Nico Hoerner answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning.
Ian Happ scored on an error by first baseman Brett Baty in the fourth and the Cubs scored three runs in the seventh, when Matt Shaw had an RBI double and scored on a wild pitch before Dansby Swanson lofted a sacrifice fly to make it 10-3.
Happ added a two-run shot in the eighth, his fifth home run of the year.
Hoerner went 3-for-5 as he raised his average to .342. Suzuki, Ballesteros and Michael Busch had two hits apiece.
Cabrera gave up three runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out four over six innings.
Francisco Alvarez had an RBI single in the eighth for the Mets and finished with two hits. Semien, Taylor, Francisco Lindor and MJ Melendez also had two hits.
Senga allowed seven runs (six earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out three over 3 1/3 innings. He has surrendered 14 runs (13 earned) in his last two starts, easily his most over a two-start span in his four-year career.
–Field Level Media
Apr 17, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs designated hiter Moises Ballesteros (25) rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run against the New York Mets during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Moises Ballesteros hit a three-run homer to cap a four-run first inning for the host Chicago Cubs, who continued surging Friday afternoon with a 12-4 win over the free-falling New York Mets.
The Cubs have scored at least 10 runs in each of their last three games, all victories — the longest streak for the club since Sept. 13-15, 2019.
The Mets have lost nine straight, a span in which they’ve been outscored 56-16. The losing streak is the longest for New York since an 11-game skid from Aug. 28-Sept. 8, 2004.
Seiya Suzuki laced an RBI single off Kodai Senga (0-3) one pitch before Ballesteros homered to left. The Mets responded with a three-run second against Edward Cabrera (2-0), who gave up an RBI double to Marcus Semien and a two-run single to Tyrone Taylor, who was thrown out trying to extend the hit into a double.
Nico Hoerner answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning.
Ian Happ scored on an error by first baseman Brett Baty in the fourth and the Cubs scored three runs in the seventh, when Matt Shaw had an RBI double and scored on a wild pitch before Dansby Swanson lofted a sacrifice fly to make it 10-3.
Happ added a two-run shot in the eighth, his fifth home run of the year.
Hoerner went 3-for-5 as he raised his average to .342. Suzuki, Ballesteros and Michael Busch had two hits apiece.
Cabrera gave up three runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out four over six innings.
Francisco Alvarez had an RBI single in the eighth for the Mets and finished with two hits. Semien, Taylor, Francisco Lindor and MJ Melendez also had two hits.
Senga allowed seven runs (six earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out three over 3 1/3 innings. He has surrendered 14 runs (13 earned) in his last two starts, easily his most over a two-start span in his four-year career.
–Field Level Media
Apr 17, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs designated hiter Moises Ballesteros (25) rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run against the New York Mets during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Moises Ballesteros hit a three-run homer to cap a four-run first inning for the host Chicago Cubs, who continued surging Friday afternoon with a 12-4 win over the free-falling New York Mets.
The Cubs have scored at least 10 runs in each of their last three games, all victories — the longest streak for the club since Sept. 13-15, 2019.
The Mets have lost nine straight, a span in which they’ve been outscored 56-16. The losing streak is the longest for New York since an 11-game skid from Aug. 28-Sept. 8, 2004.
Seiya Suzuki laced an RBI single off Kodai Senga (0-3) one pitch before Ballesteros homered to left. The Mets responded with a three-run second against Edward Cabrera (2-0), who gave up an RBI double to Marcus Semien and a two-run single to Tyrone Taylor, who was thrown out trying to extend the hit into a double.
Nico Hoerner answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning.
Ian Happ scored on an error by first baseman Brett Baty in the fourth and the Cubs scored three runs in the seventh, when Matt Shaw had an RBI double and scored on a wild pitch before Dansby Swanson lofted a sacrifice fly to make it 10-3.
Happ added a two-run shot in the eighth, his fifth home run of the year.
Hoerner went 3-for-5 as he raised his average to .342. Suzuki, Ballesteros and Michael Busch had two hits apiece.
Cabrera gave up three runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out four over six innings.
Francisco Alvarez had an RBI single in the eighth for the Mets and finished with two hits. Semien, Taylor, Francisco Lindor and MJ Melendez also had two hits.
Senga allowed seven runs (six earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out three over 3 1/3 innings. He has surrendered 14 runs (13 earned) in his last two starts, easily his most over a two-start span in his four-year career.
–Field Level Media
Apr 17, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs designated hiter Moises Ballesteros (25) rounds the…
Coventry City ended its 25-year absence from the Premier League with a 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers, securing promotion from the Championship with three games to spare on Friday.
Needing only a point to make it mathematically certain, Frank Lampard’s league-leader salvaged a draw as Bobby Thomas headed a late equaliser at Ewood Park.
Blackburn had taken the lead shortly after the interval with a deflected shot by Ryoya Morishita.
The promotion party got going after Thomas’s glancing header and the final whistle sparked celebrations on the pitch and delirious scenes among the 7,500 travelling fans.
Coventry tops the table with 86 points from 43 games, 13 ahead of third-placed Millwall, which can no longer catch it. Ipswich Town, Millwall, Southampton and Middlesbrough are battling for the second automatic promotion spot.

Needing only a point to make it mathematically certain, Frank Lampard’s league-leader salvaged a draw as Bobby Thomas headed a late equaliser at Ewood Park.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

Needing only a point to make it mathematically certain, Frank Lampard’s league-leader salvaged a draw as Bobby Thomas headed a late equaliser at Ewood Park.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters
“It was an incredible moment (when Thomas scored),” former Chelsea and England midfielder Lampard told Sky Sports. “We knew we were nearly there but to get it over the line after 25 years, wow! It’s amazing. What (the fans) have gone through.”
It was former England and Chelsea midfielder Lampard’s first promotion as a manager and he was clearly emotional as the achievement sank in.
“This is a serious football club. These boys have achieved something unique. This is right up there for me,” he said.
“I was fortunate to be in great Chelsea teams, winning league titles and Champions Leagues but to do this I’m very proud to be their manager.”
As well as regaining its place amongst the elite for the first time in a generation, promotion will have a massive financial impact for Coventry — a club which has been through the mill since relegation a quarter of a century ago.
BROADCAST INCOME
Promotion from the Championship to the Premier League is worth around 120 million to 170 million pounds ($230 million) over three seasons, driven largely by a surge in broadcast income, with even the bottom club in the top flight earning more than 100 million pounds in central distributions in its first season.
On Friday though it was not the money but the pure joy for the visiting fans as Lampard’s side completed the job.
Coventry spent 34 consecutive seasons in England’s top flight after promotion in 1967 and survived countless relegation battles before succumbing in 2000-01 when it finished 19th in the Premier League.

It was former England and Chelsea midfielder Lampard’s first promotion as a manager and he was clearly emotional as the achievement sank in.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

It was former England and Chelsea midfielder Lampard’s first promotion as a manager and he was clearly emotional as the achievement sank in.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters
Financial hard times followed and it was relegated to the third tier in 2012 and was forced to ground share with Northampton Town after a rent dispute over its new stadium.
Coventry’s low point on the pitch arrived in 2017 when it was relegated to the fourth tier for the first time since 1959 and although it was promoted the following season, it was again forced away from its stadium between 2019 and 2021, playing home games at Birmingham City’s ground.
Coventry came close to a Premier League return twice, reaching the Championship playoff final in 2022-23 and bowing out in the semifinals last season.
Lampard took charge in November 2024 and steered it to fifth in the Championship last season.
Published on Apr 18, 2026
Needing only a point to make it mathematically certain, Frank Lampard’s league-leader salvaged a draw as Bobby Thomas headed a late equaliser at Ewood Park. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Needing only a point to make it mathematically certain, Frank Lampard’s league-leader salvaged a draw as Bobby Thomas headed a late equaliser at Ewood Park. | Photo Credit: Reuters
It was former England and Chelsea midfielder Lampard’s first promotion as a manager and he was clearly emotional as the achievement sank in. | Photo Credit: Reuters
It was former England and Chelsea midfielder Lampard’s first promotion as a manager and he was clearly emotional as the achievement sank in. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Coventry City ended its 25-year absence from the Premier League with a 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers, securing promotion from the Championship with three games to spare on Friday.
Needing only a point to make it mathematically certain, Frank Lampard’s league-leader salvaged a draw as Bobby Thomas headed a late equaliser at Ewood Park.
Blackburn had taken the lead shortly after the interval with a deflected shot by Ryoya Morishita.
The promotion party got going after Thomas’s glancing header and the final whistle sparked celebrations on the pitch and delirious scenes among the 7,500 travelling fans.
Coventry tops the table with 86 points from 43 games, 13 ahead of third-placed Millwall, which can no longer catch it. Ipswich Town, Millwall, Southampton and Middlesbrough are battling for the second automatic promotion spot.
Needing only a point to make it mathematically certain, Frank Lampard’s league-leader salvaged a draw as Bobby Thomas headed a late equaliser at Ewood Park. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Needing only a point to make it mathematically certain, Frank Lampard’s league-leader salvaged a draw as Bobby Thomas headed a late equaliser at Ewood Park. | Photo Credit: Reuters
“It was an incredible moment (when Thomas scored),” former Chelsea and England midfielder Lampard told Sky Sports. “We knew we were nearly there but to get it over the line after 25 years, wow! It’s amazing. What (the fans) have gone through.”
It was former England and Chelsea midfielder Lampard’s first promotion as a manager and he was clearly emotional as the achievement sank in.
“This is a serious football club. These boys have achieved something unique. This is right up there for me,” he said.
“I was fortunate to be in great Chelsea teams, winning league titles and Champions Leagues but to do this I’m very proud to be their manager.”
As well as regaining its place amongst the elite for the first time in a generation, promotion will have a massive financial impact for Coventry — a club which has been through the mill since relegation a quarter of a century ago.
BROADCAST INCOME
Promotion from the Championship to the Premier League is worth around 120 million to 170 million pounds ($230 million) over three seasons, driven largely by a surge in broadcast income, with even the bottom club in the top flight earning more than 100 million pounds in central distributions in its first season.
On Friday though it was not the money but the pure joy for the visiting fans as Lampard’s side completed the job.
Coventry spent 34 consecutive seasons in England’s top flight after promotion in 1967 and survived countless relegation battles before succumbing in 2000-01 when it finished 19th in the Premier League.
It was former England and Chelsea midfielder Lampard’s first promotion as a manager and he was clearly emotional as the achievement sank in. | Photo Credit: Reuters
It was former England and Chelsea midfielder Lampard’s first promotion as a manager and he was clearly emotional as the achievement sank in. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Financial hard times followed and it was relegated to the third tier in 2012 and was forced to ground share with Northampton Town after a rent dispute over its new stadium.
Coventry’s low point on the pitch arrived in 2017 when it was relegated to the fourth tier for the first time since 1959 and although it was promoted the following season, it was again forced away from its stadium between 2019 and 2021, playing home games at Birmingham City’s ground.
Coventry came close to a Premier League return twice, reaching the Championship playoff final in 2022-23 and bowing out in the semifinals last season.
Lampard took charge in November 2024 and steered it to fifth in the Championship last season.
Published on Apr 18, 2026
Coventry City ended its 25-year absence from the Premier League with a 1-1 draw at…
Apr 17, 2026; Hilton Head, South Carolina, USA; Matt Fitzpatrick putts on 16 green during the second round of the RBC Heritage golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Matt Fitzpatrick of England shot a spotless, 8-under 63 to vault into the lead halfway through the RBC Heritage on Friday in Hilton Head Island, S.C.
Fitzpatrick climbed to 14-under 128 at Harbour Town Golf Links, while Norway’s Viktor Hovland came close to tying him at the end of the day but settled for a 65 and second place at 13 under.
Harris English sits third at 10 under following a 68, and first-round leader Ludvig Aberg of Sweden made three back-nine bogeys on his way to 70, slipping into a tie at 9 under with Patrick Cantlay (64) and Austrian Sepp Straka (67).
There is no 36-hole cut at the post-Masters signature event with a $20 million purse. Justin Thomas, last year’s champion, will be grateful to see the weekend as he’s fallen to dead last in the 82-man field following rounds of 76 and 75 (9 over).
Fitzpatrick, 31, won the Heritage in 2023 in its first year as a signature event. With the course comfortability came a lucky break at the par-3 14th on Friday.
His tee shot flew far left of the green, but his ball appeared to bounce off a tree and a cart path to come back to the green with some speed. It nearly rolled all the way off into the water, but a sprinkler head helped bring it to a stop. The head allowed Fitzpatrick a free drop for relief, and from just off the green he drilled a 33-foot putt for birdie.
Akshay Bhatia matched Fitzpatrick for the round of the day, shooting 63 and tying a tournament single-round record with 11 birdies. After a poor first round, he moved up to 6 under on the leaderboard.
–Field Level Media
Apr 17, 2026; Hilton Head, South Carolina, USA; Matt Fitzpatrick putts on 16 green during the second round of the RBC Heritage golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Matt Fitzpatrick of England shot a spotless, 8-under 63 to vault into the lead halfway through the RBC Heritage on Friday in Hilton Head Island, S.C.
Fitzpatrick climbed to 14-under 128 at Harbour Town Golf Links, while Norway’s Viktor Hovland came close to tying him at the end of the day but settled for a 65 and second place at 13 under.
Harris English sits third at 10 under following a 68, and first-round leader Ludvig Aberg of Sweden made three back-nine bogeys on his way to 70, slipping into a tie at 9 under with Patrick Cantlay (64) and Austrian Sepp Straka (67).
There is no 36-hole cut at the post-Masters signature event with a $20 million purse. Justin Thomas, last year’s champion, will be grateful to see the weekend as he’s fallen to dead last in the 82-man field following rounds of 76 and 75 (9 over).
Fitzpatrick, 31, won the Heritage in 2023 in its first year as a signature event. With the course comfortability came a lucky break at the par-3 14th on Friday.
His tee shot flew far left of the green, but his ball appeared to bounce off a tree and a cart path to come back to the green with some speed. It nearly rolled all the way off into the water, but a sprinkler head helped bring it to a stop. The head allowed Fitzpatrick a free drop for relief, and from just off the green he drilled a 33-foot putt for birdie.
Akshay Bhatia matched Fitzpatrick for the round of the day, shooting 63 and tying a tournament single-round record with 11 birdies. After a poor first round, he moved up to 6 under on the leaderboard.
–Field Level Media
Apr 17, 2026; Hilton Head, South Carolina, USA; Matt Fitzpatrick putts on 16 green during the second round of the RBC Heritage golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Matt Fitzpatrick of England shot a spotless, 8-under 63 to vault into the lead halfway through the RBC Heritage on Friday in Hilton Head Island, S.C.
Fitzpatrick climbed to 14-under 128 at Harbour Town Golf Links, while Norway’s Viktor Hovland came close to tying him at the end of the day but settled for a 65 and second place at 13 under.
Harris English sits third at 10 under following a 68, and first-round leader Ludvig Aberg of Sweden made three back-nine bogeys on his way to 70, slipping into a tie at 9 under with Patrick Cantlay (64) and Austrian Sepp Straka (67).
There is no 36-hole cut at the post-Masters signature event with a $20 million purse. Justin Thomas, last year’s champion, will be grateful to see the weekend as he’s fallen to dead last in the 82-man field following rounds of 76 and 75 (9 over).
Fitzpatrick, 31, won the Heritage in 2023 in its first year as a signature event. With the course comfortability came a lucky break at the par-3 14th on Friday.
His tee shot flew far left of the green, but his ball appeared to bounce off a tree and a cart path to come back to the green with some speed. It nearly rolled all the way off into the water, but a sprinkler head helped bring it to a stop. The head allowed Fitzpatrick a free drop for relief, and from just off the green he drilled a 33-foot putt for birdie.
Akshay Bhatia matched Fitzpatrick for the round of the day, shooting 63 and tying a tournament single-round record with 11 birdies. After a poor first round, he moved up to 6 under on the leaderboard.
–Field Level Media
Apr 17, 2026; Hilton Head, South Carolina, USA; Matt Fitzpatrick putts on 16 green during…


![Sam Altman’s project World looks to scale its human verification empire. First stop: Tinder. | TechCrunch
At a trendy venue near the San Francisco pier, Sam Altman’s verification project World celebrated its next evolution and rapid expansion of its ambitions. And it’s starting with Tinder.
Tools for Humanity (TFH), the company behind the World project, announced Friday plans to integrate its verification tech into dating apps, event and concert ticketing systems, business organizations, email, and other arenas of public life.
“The world is getting close to very powerful AI, and this is doing a lot of wonderful things,” said Altman, speaking before a packed crowd at The Midway. “We are also heading to a world now where there’s going to be more stuff generated by AI than by humans,” he added. “I’m sure many of you [have had moments] where you’re like, ‘Am I interacting with an AI or a person, or how much of each, and how do I know?”
World (formerly Worldcoin) distinguishes itself from many of its ID verification peers by offering the ability to verify that a real, living human is using a digital service while still protecting that person’s anonymity. There is some complex cryptographic alchemy behind this (something called “zero-knowledge proof-based authentication”). The upshot: The company is creating what it calls “proof of human” tools, which are mechanisms that can verify human activity in a world rife with AI agents and bots.
Its chief tool for verification is a spherical digital reader called the Orb that scans a user’s eyes, converting their iris into a unique and anonymous cryptographic identifier (known as a verified World ID). This can then be used to access World’s services, although users can also access World’s app without one.
Altman kept his remarks brief on Friday (TFH’s co-founder and CEO, Alex Blania, was absent due to a last-minute hand surgery, Altman said). He then turned much of the presentation over to World’s chief product officer, Tiago Sada, and his team.
Sada explained that World was launching the newest version of its app (the last version was launched at an event in December), along with a plethora of new integrations for its technology.
World has been preparing, for some time, to deploy a verification service for dating apps — most notably, Tinder. Last year, Tinder launched a World ID pilot program in Japan. That pilot was apparently a success because World announced that Tinder would be launching its verification integration in global markets —including the U.S. The program integrates a World ID emblem into the profiles of users who have gone through its verification processes, thus authenticating them as a real person.
Image Credits:World
World is also courting the entertainment industry by launching a new feature called Concert Kit, where musical artists can reserve a certain number of concert tickets for World ID-verified humans. This is designed to ensure that fans are safe from scalpers who often use automated ticket-buying bots to scarf up seats. Concert Kit is compatible with major ticketing systems, including Ticketmaster and Eventbrite, and the company is promoting it via partnerships with 30 Seconds to Mars and Bruno Mars — both of whom plan to use it for their upcoming tours.
The event was full of many other announcements, including some aimed at businesses. A Zoom/World ID verification integration seeks to battle a supposed deepfake threat to business calls, and a Docusign partnership is designed to ensure signatures come from authentic users.
The company is also working on a number of features in anticipation of the Wild West of the agentic web, including one called “agent delegation,” in which a person can delegate their World ID to an agent to carry out online activities on their behalf. A partnership with authentication firm Okta has also created a system (currently in beta) that verifies that an agent is acting on behalf of a human. The system is set up so that a World ID can be tied to a specific agent and then, when the agent goes out into the web to operate on that person’s behalf, websites will know a verified person is behind the behavior, said Okta’s chief product officer, Gareth Davies, at the event.
So far, it’s been difficult for World to scale, due largely to the verification process itself. For much of the company’s history, to get its gold standard, you had to travel to one of its offices and have your eyeballs scanned by an Orb — a fairly inconvenient (not to mention weird) experience.
Image Credits:World
However, World has continually made moves to increase the ease and incentive structure for verification. In the past, it offered its crypto asset, Worldcoin, to some members who signed up and has distributed its Orbs into big retail chains so that users can verify themselves while they’re out shopping or getting a coffee. Now the company is announcing that it is significantly expanding its Orb saturation in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The company also promoted a service where interested users could have World bring an Orb to their location for remote verification.
In a conversation with TechCrunch, Sada also shared that World has attempted to solve the scaling problem by creating different tiers of verification. The highest tier is Orb verification, but below that, World has previously offered a mid-level tier, which uses an anonymized scan of an official government ID via the card’s NFC chip.
The company also introduced a low-level tier, or what Sada called “low friction”— meaning low effort, I guess, but also “low security” — which involves merely taking a selfie.
Selfie Check, which Sada’s team presented during the event, is designed to maintain user privacy.
“Selfie is private by design,” said Daniel Shorr, one of TFH’s executives, during the presentation. “That means that we maximize the local processing that’s happening on your device, on your phone, which means that your images are yours.”
Selfie verification obviously isn’t new, and fraudsters have long managed to spoof it. “Obviously, we do our best, and it’s like one of the best systems that you’ll see for this. But it has limits,” Sada told TechCrunch. Developers looking to integrate World’s services can choose from the three different verification tiers depending on the level of security that’s important to them, he noted.
#Sam #Altmans #project #World #scale #human #verification #empire #stop #Tinder #TechCrunchDocuSign,sam altman,Tinder,World,Worldcoin,zoom Sam Altman’s project World looks to scale its human verification empire. First stop: Tinder. | TechCrunch
At a trendy venue near the San Francisco pier, Sam Altman’s verification project World celebrated its next evolution and rapid expansion of its ambitions. And it’s starting with Tinder.
Tools for Humanity (TFH), the company behind the World project, announced Friday plans to integrate its verification tech into dating apps, event and concert ticketing systems, business organizations, email, and other arenas of public life.
“The world is getting close to very powerful AI, and this is doing a lot of wonderful things,” said Altman, speaking before a packed crowd at The Midway. “We are also heading to a world now where there’s going to be more stuff generated by AI than by humans,” he added. “I’m sure many of you [have had moments] where you’re like, ‘Am I interacting with an AI or a person, or how much of each, and how do I know?”
World (formerly Worldcoin) distinguishes itself from many of its ID verification peers by offering the ability to verify that a real, living human is using a digital service while still protecting that person’s anonymity. There is some complex cryptographic alchemy behind this (something called “zero-knowledge proof-based authentication”). The upshot: The company is creating what it calls “proof of human” tools, which are mechanisms that can verify human activity in a world rife with AI agents and bots.
Its chief tool for verification is a spherical digital reader called the Orb that scans a user’s eyes, converting their iris into a unique and anonymous cryptographic identifier (known as a verified World ID). This can then be used to access World’s services, although users can also access World’s app without one.
Altman kept his remarks brief on Friday (TFH’s co-founder and CEO, Alex Blania, was absent due to a last-minute hand surgery, Altman said). He then turned much of the presentation over to World’s chief product officer, Tiago Sada, and his team.
Sada explained that World was launching the newest version of its app (the last version was launched at an event in December), along with a plethora of new integrations for its technology.
World has been preparing, for some time, to deploy a verification service for dating apps — most notably, Tinder. Last year, Tinder launched a World ID pilot program in Japan. That pilot was apparently a success because World announced that Tinder would be launching its verification integration in global markets —including the U.S. The program integrates a World ID emblem into the profiles of users who have gone through its verification processes, thus authenticating them as a real person.
Image Credits:World
World is also courting the entertainment industry by launching a new feature called Concert Kit, where musical artists can reserve a certain number of concert tickets for World ID-verified humans. This is designed to ensure that fans are safe from scalpers who often use automated ticket-buying bots to scarf up seats. Concert Kit is compatible with major ticketing systems, including Ticketmaster and Eventbrite, and the company is promoting it via partnerships with 30 Seconds to Mars and Bruno Mars — both of whom plan to use it for their upcoming tours.
The event was full of many other announcements, including some aimed at businesses. A Zoom/World ID verification integration seeks to battle a supposed deepfake threat to business calls, and a Docusign partnership is designed to ensure signatures come from authentic users.
The company is also working on a number of features in anticipation of the Wild West of the agentic web, including one called “agent delegation,” in which a person can delegate their World ID to an agent to carry out online activities on their behalf. A partnership with authentication firm Okta has also created a system (currently in beta) that verifies that an agent is acting on behalf of a human. The system is set up so that a World ID can be tied to a specific agent and then, when the agent goes out into the web to operate on that person’s behalf, websites will know a verified person is behind the behavior, said Okta’s chief product officer, Gareth Davies, at the event.
So far, it’s been difficult for World to scale, due largely to the verification process itself. For much of the company’s history, to get its gold standard, you had to travel to one of its offices and have your eyeballs scanned by an Orb — a fairly inconvenient (not to mention weird) experience.
Image Credits:World
However, World has continually made moves to increase the ease and incentive structure for verification. In the past, it offered its crypto asset, Worldcoin, to some members who signed up and has distributed its Orbs into big retail chains so that users can verify themselves while they’re out shopping or getting a coffee. Now the company is announcing that it is significantly expanding its Orb saturation in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The company also promoted a service where interested users could have World bring an Orb to their location for remote verification.
In a conversation with TechCrunch, Sada also shared that World has attempted to solve the scaling problem by creating different tiers of verification. The highest tier is Orb verification, but below that, World has previously offered a mid-level tier, which uses an anonymized scan of an official government ID via the card’s NFC chip.
The company also introduced a low-level tier, or what Sada called “low friction”— meaning low effort, I guess, but also “low security” — which involves merely taking a selfie.
Selfie Check, which Sada’s team presented during the event, is designed to maintain user privacy.
“Selfie is private by design,” said Daniel Shorr, one of TFH’s executives, during the presentation. “That means that we maximize the local processing that’s happening on your device, on your phone, which means that your images are yours.”
Selfie verification obviously isn’t new, and fraudsters have long managed to spoof it. “Obviously, we do our best, and it’s like one of the best systems that you’ll see for this. But it has limits,” Sada told TechCrunch. Developers looking to integrate World’s services can choose from the three different verification tiers depending on the level of security that’s important to them, he noted.
#Sam #Altmans #project #World #scale #human #verification #empire #stop #Tinder #TechCrunchDocuSign,sam altman,Tinder,World,Worldcoin,zoom](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-17-at-1.55.00-PM.png?w=680)
