Medirom Stock Jumps 10% After Hours On Deal To Run Sam Altman’s World ‘Proof Of Human’ Sites In Japan

The deal positions Medirom at the center of Japan’s push to deploy human-verification infrastructure as AI adoption accelerates.

• The partnership makes Medirom the operator for World ID verification across Japan.
• Its rollout will use Medirom’s 300 locations, along with flagship and pop-up sites, to scale quickly.
• Investors reacted positively to the prospect of a new, recurring revenue stream beyond wellness.

Shares of Medirom Healthcare Technologies Inc. (MRM) jumped about 10% in after-hours trading on Friday after the company announced a partnership tied to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s World project, positioning Medirom as a key operator in Japan’s rollout of “Proof of Human” verification technology.

Medirom Picked To Operate World ID Locations In Japan

Medirom said it has entered into a master service agreement with Tools for Humanity and the World Foundation to operate World’s “Proof of Human” verification locations across Japan. World is a biometric identity project co-created by Sam Altman and Alex Blania that aims to help users prove they are human online without revealing personal identity.

Under the agreement, Medirom will be responsible for running verification sites using World’s technology, including the deployment of Orb devices that confirm humanness through privacy-preserving biometric methods.

Nationwide Rollout 

Medirom plans to use its nationwide footprint of roughly 300 locations to accelerate deployment. The company said it will also establish flagship verification sites and temporary pop-up locations in commercial and public spaces, supported by a newly formed internal task force dedicated to the project.

The company expects the initiative to generate revenue over time through operating fees and related services as adoption scales.

‘Proof of Human’ Gains Focus Amid AI Boom

World project was created to address growing concerns that advances in AI are making it harder to distinguish humans from bots online. The project uses blockchain-based infrastructure to provide users with an anonymous World ID that can be used across participating platforms.

Tools for Humanity, which led the initial development of the World project, said Japan’s high level of technology adoption makes it a key market for expanding digital identity infrastructure.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Medirom was ‘extremely bullish’ amid ‘high’ message volume.

One user said they can see the stock “rallying” next week.

Medirom’s stock has more than doubled so far in 2025.

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