Eightco Holdings is building a public treasury for the agentic AI era, blending indirect OpenAI equity with a massive Worldcoin position.
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Eightco Unveils $333M Treasury Bet on AI and Digital Identity
Eightco Holdings revealed its $333 million treasury Tuesday, positioning the Nasdaq-listed company as a public proxy for private tech mega-trends with a $90 million indirect stake in OpenAI and 8.53% of Worldcoin's circulating supply.
"It is evident that as AI-agent capabilities grow... 'non-human' share of activity will steeply increase with time," stated Thomas "Tom" Lee, a Board Member of Eightco, highlighting the need for human verification.
The treasury, detailed on May 6, comprises a $90 million indirect investment in OpenAI, over 283 million WLD tokens, a $25 million stake in Beast Industries, 11,068 Ethereum, and $121 million in cash, according to a company statement.
The strategy offers retail and institutional investors a unique, single-ticker vehicle (ORBS) to gain exposure to the valuations of private firms like OpenAI and the "Proof of Human" thesis, a theme gaining traction as AI-driven bots account for over 50 percent of web traffic.
$90M OpenAI Stake Taps AI Growth
The cornerstone of Eightco’s AI bet is its $90 million position in special purpose vehicles with exposure to OpenAI equity, accounting for 27 percent of its total holdings. This makes Eightco one of the most concentrated public vehicles for OpenAI exposure. The move provides an alternative to the synthetic pre-IPO futures offered by crypto exchanges like OKX and Bitget, which confer price exposure without any equity ownership. The investment is backstopped by the performance of OpenAI's consumer app, ChatGPT, which became the most-downloaded application in its category in early 2026, according to Sensor Tower.
Worldcoin Bet on 'Proof of Human'
Constituting 21 percent of its treasury, Eightco's holding of over 283 million Worldcoin (WLD) tokens establishes it as the largest publicly disclosed institutional holder. The investment is a direct bet on the "Proof of Human" protocol developed by Tools for Humanity, co-founded by OpenAI's Sam Altman. The thesis rests on the growing need to differentiate humans from bots as AI-generated activity proliferates. Data compiled by Fundstrat, where Eightco board member Tom Lee is Head of Research, shows that "non-humans" now account for 75 percent of Polymarket trading volume and 53 percent of all web traffic, creating a vast addressable market for verification services that Tools for Humanity estimates at over $6 trillion.
Creator Economy Exposure Via MrBeast
Rounding out its strategy is an $18 million investment in Beast Industries, the company behind YouTube creator MrBeast, with a further $7 million committed. This position, representing about eight percent of the treasury, is a wager on the increasing value of audience and distribution in a world where AI commoditizes content creation. Beast Industries commands a combined global audience of over 500 million, a scale that provides a defensible moat.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
[1] Eightco Holdings (NASDAQ: ORBS) Reports Total Holdings of Approximately $333 Million, Includes OpenAI, Beast Industries, More Than 11,000 ETH and Over 283 Million WLD Tokens[2] OKX joins crypto’s pre-IPO frenzy with OpenAI, SpaceX perpetual futures[3] Inside Eightco's $333M treasury: OpenAI stake, 283M WLD, 11,068 ETH - Stock Titan
