Rivalry between World Network, also known as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s “other company,” and Elon Musk’s X is heating up in an escalating race to be first out with an “everything app.” World Network is trying to accelerate adoption of a log-in system that relies on “ocular verification” — mapping the unique pattern of the iris — for “anonymous proof-of-human” validation. World already has a free app for iOS and Android, and recently launched a “mini app store” within it, including functions such as chat, transferring cryptocurrency and shopping for microloans.

Eventually it hopes, as its name implies, to do “everything,” from paying bills and taxes to buying groceries. Altman and his World Network co-founder and CEO Alex Blania envision their venture growing to what will be “a vast ecosystem reaching more than a billion people,” according to The Wall Street Journal, which says “as the company’s identification system expands, they anticipate their main competitor will be Elon Musk’s own attempt at an everything app: X.”

First mover urgency is likely escalating at World now that Musk has apparently gained access to troves of detailed personal consumer data via his efforts as part of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team.

Also called “super apps,” the model is becoming common throughout Asia, where WeChat, Grab, Alipay and KakaoTalk allow users to do everything from shopping and chatting to ordering a meal or a ride.

The big difference from the perspective of World app builders is the vision of “a time in the not-too-distant future when you can’t do much without an ocular check-in,” WSJ writes, providing photos and illustrations of World’s “Orb eyeball scanner,” which it says has “‘verified’ 11 million people worldwide.”

Soon, “AI agents will be so prevalent, and so humanlike, that we’ll need to repeatedly prove we’re real to prevent those AIs from masquerading as humans on everything from payment platforms to social networks,” WSJ writes, noting that World is positioning its network as “anonymous and secure,” with the ability to prove who is and who is human, but unable to identify who you are without use of additional software.

CoinDesk, which characterizes World Network as a “blockchain venture” in pursuit of a digital wallet, says even those who haven’t been verified by ocular tech will have access to some World features, like the newly added chat capability, which like Apple’s iMessage for iPhone will use different colors for verified and non-verified message senders, with “a blue chat bubble as well as a unique World ID gem in the upper right corner” for biological participants.