Tools for Humanity, Sam Altman’s eyeball-scanning startup, hired two law firms last year to investigate allegations of financial irregularities at the company and bribery of foreign officials in Thailand, people familiar with the investigations told Business Insider.
One of the probes, Business Insider has learned, looked into Tools for Humanity’s rollout in Thailand with a company linked to a South African businessman whom U.S. and Thai officials have accused of involvement in transnational cyber-fraud scams.
The other investigation reviewed concerns including allegations that senior company leaders approved six- and seven-figure payments to a foreign firm to boost the value of the Worldcoin token, a potential violation of Securities and Exchange Commission rules, people familiar with the investigations said.
As a result of the investigations, Tools for Humanity severed ties with a business partner in Thailand and strengthened its policies and controls, a company spokesperson told Business Insider. Following the investigations, Tools for Humanity said it is not aware of any facts establishing a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a federal anti-bribery law, by the company or any of its employees.
“When concerns are raised, we take them seriously, engage independent outside experts to review them when appropriate, and take action as warranted based on what we learn, as we are doing here,” the spokesperson said.
Tools for Humanity was cofounded by one of the tech world’s most notable figures. Altman, better known for his role as CEO of OpenAI, is one of three people on Tools for Humanity’s board. Valued in 2023 at $2.5 billion, it has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital, and Khosla Ventures.
The company’s goal: to distinguish humans from AI bots with iris scans performed by a volleyball-sized sphere called the “Orb.”
Altman didn’t respond to emailed requests for comment.
A staffer raises concerns
For one of the reviews, the company said it engaged law firm O’Melveny & Myers. The purpose of that investigation was to look into concerns raised by a company staffer about potential misuse of company funds, the people familiar with the investigations said.
O’Melveny examined allegations of personal expenses and corporate housing charged on company credit cards, the people said. The firm also looked into alleged misclassification of full-time employees as contractors to lower the employees’ tax burden, the people said.
The company’s auditing firm, BDO, also looked into the concerns raised by the company staffer about the startup’s financials, the people said. BDO declined to comment.
Separately, Tools for Humanity said it hired the law firm Sidley Austin. That firm looked into whether the company’s dealings in Thailand had violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, these people said.
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is a federal law that prohibits companies from paying, offering, or promising bribes to foreign officials to obtain or retain business. Civil and criminal penalties can include hefty fines and prison time.
Findings from at least one of the law firm investigations were presented to the company’s board, according to one of the people familiar with the investigations. Tools for Humanity’s directors are Altman, Chief Executive Alex Blania, and Spencer Bogart, general partner at Blockchain Capital.
“We are committed to conducting business ethically around the world and adhering to the law wherever we operate,” the Tools for Humanity spokesperson said. “We maintain robust policies and practices designed to support that commitment, we enforce them, and we strengthen them when we identify areas for improvement.”
Regulatory roadblocks
Tools for Humanity was cofounded in 2019 by Altman and Blania, then a young physics researcher at Caltech. The company builds tools for the Cayman Islands-based World Foundation, which distributes the Worldcoin cryptocurrency token and aims to develop a global identity and financial network.
Until earlier this year, Tools for Humanity offered new participants the option to claim tokens of Worldcoin. Some Tools for Humanity staffers have received token grants as part of their compensation packages. Early investors in Tools for Humanity also received tokens, the company has said.
The value of the Worldcoin token stood at around 61 cents Sunday, a decline of 95% since its peak of $11.79 in March 2024, according to Coinbase.
As the company tries to recruit users for its World app and network, it has met regulatory roadblocks and questions about its iris-scanning and data collection. The company has been barred, paused, or investigated in many countries, including Spain, India, and Indonesia.
At home, the company has faced criticism for its all-or-nothing work culture, as Business Insider previously reported. A slew of high-level staffers have left over the past year, and in June it announced layoffs. The layoffs affected less than 15% of the company’s global workforce of roughly 500 people, a person familiar with the matter said. Tools for Humanity recently entered a new phase of its plan, focusing on building partnerships with businesses and demonstrating utility to users, the company said in a blog post.
A questionable business partner
Tools for Humanity has drawn scrutiny for its operations in Asia. In 2022, the company told MIT Technology Review that it launched an investigation after the magazine’s reporting showed that the company’s contractor in Indonesia had made payments to village officials, a potential violation of the country’s anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws.
Last September, Whale Hunting, an investigative journalism project run by the production company Brazen, reported that during Tools for Humanity’s rollout in Thailand, the startup had unwittingly done business with a publicly traded company tied to South African businessman Benjamin Mauerberger, also known as Ben Smith.
Thai courts have seized assets belonging to Mauerberger and issued an arrest warrant for him on fraud and money laundering charges related to an alleged transnational scam network, according to multiple news outlets.
A bill advanced in December by the House Foreign Affairs Committee named Mauerberger on a list of foreign nationals who could be subject to sanctions for alleged involvement in transnational “pig butchering” scams.
Tools for Humanity “entered into business with a partner in the region linked to an individual about whom serious allegations later emerged, but who had provided us with a false name and about whom those allegations were not known at the time,” the company’s spokesperson told Business Insider. “Once the company learned of the allegations, it retained Sidley to look into the matter, severed ties, and implemented more robust due diligence measures for vetting business partners.”
Mauerberger didn’t respond to a request for comment sent through a LinkedIn account listed under his name. His attorney, Witoon Kengngan, told reporters at a press conference in March that the criminal investigation of his client in Thailand was moving unusually quickly and suggested that it could be politically motivated. He said his client wouldn’t return to Thailand.
Thai officials have pursued their own, unrelated, probes into Tools for Humanity.
The company in November said it had halted operations in Thailand because of an order from the country’s Personal Data Protection Committee over concerns around the collection of biometric data. And Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation in January said that its investigation found that some 1.2 million Thai citizens had undergone iris scans and that most of them had been “incentivized by the promise of the cryptocurrency named ‘Worldcoin’ (WLD) while they misunderstood or [were] unaware of the required consent.”
The Department of Special Investigation didn’t respond to a request for comment.

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — The superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District resigned Sunday night, nearly four months after the FBI served search warrants at his home and the LAUSD’s headquarters as part of an ongoing investigation.
An LAUSD spokesperson confirmed to Eyewitness News that the district received a letter of resignation from Carvalho.
“It has been a great honor to serve you,” Carvalho wrote in a letter addressed to “the students, families, teachers, staff, and community of LAUSD,” the Los Angeles Times reported. “Over the past four years, together, we have made historic progress – gains that belong to our students, our educators, staff and our communities.”
On Feb. 27, two days after the FBI conducted searches at Carvalho’s home and LAUSD offices, the district’s Board of Education voted unanimously to place him on leave pending the outcome of the probe.
“Mr. Carvalho remains confident that the evidence will ultimately demonstrate that he acted appropriately and in the best interests of students,” said a statement released in March, attributed to a spokesperson for Carvalho. “We hope the school board reinstates him promptly to his position as superintendent.”
Authorities have not charged Carvalho with any crimes.
The FBI also searched a third location near Miami. The Miami Herald reported the Florida property belonged to Debra Kerr, who previously worked with AllHere, an education technology company that had a contract with Los Angeles schools before it collapsed and its leader was indicted for fraud.
In 2024, Carvalho heavily touted a deal with AllHere for an AI chatbot named “Ed” designed to help students. But about three months after unveiling the technology and paying the company $3 million, the district dropped its dealings with AllHere, which collapsed into bankruptcy. Months later, founder Joanna Smith-Griffin was charged with securities and wire fraud, along with identity theft.
At the time, Carvalho denied personal involvement in the selection of AllHere, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“Mr. Carvalho respects the rule of law and the investigative process and has always acted in the best interests of students and within the bounds of the law,” the statement said. “While the government’s investigation remains ongoing, no evidence has been presented by prosecutors supporting any allegation that Mr. Carvalho violated federal law.”
Following the search of school headquarters, LA Unified said it was cooperating with investigators.
Carvalho became superintendent for L.A. in 2022. He previously led the public schools in Miami.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

SYDNEY, June 22 (Reuters) – Australia said on Monday it will sell advanced radar technology capable of detecting long-range ‌missiles to Canada under a A$2.5 billion ($1.75 billion) ‌agreement, the country’s largest-ever defence export deal.
The agreement is Australia’s first overseas sale ​of the radar, known as Over-the-Horizon Radar technology, and will support Canada’s surveillance of the Arctic region.
“Today’s agreement marks a significant milestone in Australian defence trade and lays the foundation for ‌deeper and mutually beneficial ⁠defence industry collaboration with Canada,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.
Canada’s Arctic region represents ⁠about 40% of its total landmass, though it is sparsely populated and has little infrastructure. Much of Russia’s Arctic area, which ​is about ​a fifth of its landmass, ​faces Canada and the ‌U.S. state of Alaska.
“Canada is reinforcing Arctic security through the Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar project,” said Stephen Fuhr, Canada’s secretary of state for defence procurement.
“This project is part of a broader effort to build an integrated Arctic surveillance and communications network that ‌will strengthen Canada’s ability to monitor, ​understand and respond to activity in ​the Arctic.”
Australia’s Jindalee Operational ​Radar Network can detect and track aircraft, ‌ships and missiles up to 3,000 ​km (1,864 miles) away.
The ​deal to share the technology with Canada will create around 300 jobs in Australia and is the first ​stage of a ‌broader collaboration between the two countries on the radar, ​Australia said.
($1 = 1.4269 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Christine Chen in ​Sydney; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

The AI boom has created a market where good results are no longer good enough. Investors have rewarded companies tied to artificial intelligence with premium valuations, but they have also become far less forgiving. A strong quarter can still lead to a falling stock price if management fails to convince Wall Street that growth is accelerating. We’ve already seen it happen to semiconductor leaders this year. Now it’s Micron Technology‘s (NASDAQ:MU | MU Price Prediction) turn in the spotlight.
And with the stock up nearly 300% year-to-date and roughly 830% over the last 12 months, expectations have never been higher.
AI Memory Demand: The Hottest Corner of Semiconductors
Micron’s rally hasn’t come out of nowhere. The company sits at the center of one of the tightest supply-demand imbalances in technology.
Demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the advanced memory used alongside AI accelerators from Nvidia and others, continues to outpace supply. At the same time, prices for both DRAM and NAND memory have climbed as manufacturers prioritize higher-margin AI products and capacity remains constrained. Reuters recently noted Micron’s earnings growth is being driven by soaring memory prices and strong HBM demand.
The memory market is also highly concentrated. SK hynix, Samsung, and Micron control roughly 89% of the global DRAM market, according to Counterpoint Research, giving the trio unusual pricing power.
That combination of rising prices, tight supply, and explosive AI demand has transformed Micron from a cyclical memory maker into one of Wall Street’s favorite AI trades.
Beating Estimates Isn’t Enough Anymore
Micron reports fiscal third-quarter results on Wednesday, June 24, after the market closes.
According to Zacks, analysts expect fiscal Q3 revenue of approximately $34.8 billion and earnings of $19.72 per share, representing revenue growth of 268% and earnings growth of more than 930% year-over-year.
Those numbers are extraordinary. Yet they may not be enough. The market’s new standard is “beat and raise.” Investors want proof that future growth will exceed current expectations. Results matter, but guidance matters even more.
That’s exactly what tripped up both ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) and Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) this year. ASML delivered a beat-and-raise quarter, but the increase in guidance was modest, leading to an initial selloff. Broadcom beat earnings estimates too, but its outlook failed to satisfy investors who had priced in even more growth, causing a bloodbath with its shares.
Micron faces the same challenge. Consensus expectations currently call for another strong quarter in fiscal Q4 and continued growth into fiscal 2027. To keep the stock’s momentum intact, management will likely need to exceed Q3 estimates, beat the whisper numbers circulating on Wall Street, and raise guidance for the current quarter and beyond.
Valuation Gives Micron an Edge
That said, Micron has one advantage Broadcom lacked heading into earnings: valuation. Broadcom entered earnings priced for near perfection. Micron doesn’t. Even after its massive run, Micron trades for less than 10 times forward earnings and carries a minuscule PEG ratio of approximately 0.07. Those metrics remain far below many AI-related peers.
Granted, Micron is no longer the bargain it was a year ago. Yet investors are still paying a relatively modest multiple for a company benefiting from AI-driven demand, rising memory prices, and supply shortages that industry leaders believe could persist well into 2027.
Key Takeaway
In short, Micron must deliver a stellar beat and an equally stellar forecast on June 24. Anything less risks a short-term selloff because expectations have risen almost as fast as the stock itself.
Regardless of how the market reacts immediately after earnings, the long-term story remains intact. AI demand continues growing, HBM remains supply-constrained, and memory pricing remains favorable. Those trends have driven Micron’s 830% gain over the past year, and they aren’t disappearing overnight.

It’s been a history-making last five weeks for Wall Street. In no particular order, we’ve witnessed:
The iconic Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI +0.14%), widely followed S&P 500 (^GSPC +1.08%), and technology-fueled Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +1.91%) jump to record highs.
The largest-ever initial public offering in Wall Street’s history: Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX).
The start of a new era at the Federal Reserve, with Jerome Powell’s term as Fed chair ending on May 15, and Kevin Warsh’s tenure officially starting on May 22.
President Donald Trump’s handpicked successor to Powell became the center of attention for financial markets last week. On June 17, Warsh led his first Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting as Fed chair — and it was a doozy.
While some things went as expected, a Kevin Warsh-led Fed brought several surprises to the table for Wall Street and investors. This included subtly throwing President Trump and former Fed Chair Powell under the bus concerning inflation.
Fed Chair Warsh lumps the blame for elevated inflation on his predecessor and the president
As expected, the FOMC — the 12-person body, including Warsh, responsible for setting the nation’s monetary policy — left the federal funds target rate unchanged on June 17. But it’s what Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said while speaking with the press after his first FOMC meeting that’s raising eyebrows and sounding alarm bells.
Breaking from Powell’s tradition of sharing the FOMC’s thought process and offering forward-looking guidance, the Federal Reserve’s FOMC statement was short and to the point under Warsh, noting that “inflation remains elevated relative to the Committee’s 2 percent goal.”
During his press conference following the FOMC meeting, Warsh bluntly stated,
The commitment to deliver [price stability] is strong, unanimous, and unambiguous. And that’s an important message we’ve missed for five years. And we’re going to fix that.
Warsh plainly assigns blame for elevated inflation to his predecessor, Jerome Powell, for keeping interest rates at record lows for too long, as well as for allowing the central bank to balloon its balance sheet with long-term Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities.
But Powell isn’t the only key figure that’s subtly thrown under the bus by Kevin Warsh in his first FOMC meeting as Fed chair. While the new head of the Fed didn’t mention Powell or Trump by name in any of his remarks, his comments to the press about elevated inflation inadvertently placed the onus of blame on the president:
Inflation remains elevated relative to the Committee’s 2% goal. In part, reflecting supply shocks that have driven price increases in certain sectors, including energy.
Although Warsh didn’t directly address the Iran war, his singling out of the energy sector speaks volumes. Trump’s decision to attack Iran on Feb. 28, and Iran’s subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, led to the largest energy supply disruption in modern history. Energy prices soared in the wake of this closure, pushing U.S. trailing 12-month inflation from 2.4% in February to a three-year high of 4.2% in May.
However, it’s worth pointing out that Warsh used the plural of “sectors” in his discussion. While energy prices tied to the Iran war remain the key catalyst for elevated inflation, President Trump’s tariffs have also been a persistent thorn for prices in the goods sector.
Bye-bye transparency! Hello, rate hikes?
But subtly assigning blame for persistently elevated inflation was only part of the story of Kevin Warsh’s first meeting as Fed chief. He also offered expected but disturbing guidance on what’s to come from policymakers and danced around a worrisome dot plot.
Perhaps the most profound statement made by Warsh in response to a question from the press was that “forward guidance isn’t the business we should be in.”
Before being confirmed as Fed chair by the Senate Banking Committee, Warsh’s testimony pointed to his desire to rid the central bank of most forward-looking guidance. He’s long believed that financial markets operate inefficiently when they move because of whims rather than facts.
The issue is that Wall Street and investors have become somewhat addicted to the transparency and forward-looking data provided by the central bank. Even though policymakers are fallible and the FOMC has been behind the curve in adjusting its monetary policy stance on several occasions, transparency and predictability are highly valued attributes by Wall Street and investors.
Without much in the way of forward-looking guidance, predicting what a Warsh-led Fed will do next becomes far more difficult. For the second-priciest stock market in history (dating back 155 years), a sudden lack of monetary policy transparency is unlikely to sit well with investors.
At the same time, Warsh’s first FOMC meeting as Fed chair coincided with the quarterly release of the Summary of Economic Projections, which is more commonly known as the “dot plot.” The dot plot anonymously projects where each of 19 policymakers (not all 19 are voting FOMC members) expects interest rates to head.
Warsh confirmed that he abstained from submitting forward-looking guidance via the dot plot. However, nine of his other 18 colleagues projected that interest rates would be higher than they are currently by the end of 2026.
Higher interest rates have the potential to slow the artificial intelligence data center build-out that has primarily fueled the Dow’s, S&P 500’s, and Nasdaq’s historic rallies.
It’s a brand-new era for the Federal Reserve, and Wall Street is simply along for the ride.