What's Possible: 10th September, 2021

We hope you enjoy this week's hand-picked selection of important and interesting stories from the frontiers of tech.

Sorare Secures NFT Deal With La Liga

Blockchain digital collectibles platform Sorare has secured a deal with La Liga — the first elite European soccer league to sign a major NFT partnership.

NFT Traders are Dropping Millions on LOOT Tokens

Pixelated jpegs going for millions of dollars were already blowing people’s minds. The latest NFT project goes one step further –– traders are dropping what for some is a year’s salary or a property down payment, in exchange for white text on a black background.

Beth Kindig's analysis of Nvidia's role in a Metaverse future

If the Metaverse thesis takes longer than expected to materialize, I am still bullish on the company due to its AI and GPU-cloud capabilities that is driving many industries. In fact, I am so bullish on Nvidia for AI that I believe the company can outpace even Apple.

Niko Partners' analysis of China's new video game restrictions

While China’s government has been positive on video games recently and has promoted segments such as esports and cloud gaming as key growth areas, gaming addiction among minors is viewed as a negative output of the popularity of video games in society.

Outstanding analysis of the Cloud industry from Greylock

Greylock’s interactive project maps multiple data points of the cloud computing ecosystem — and plots new opportunities for success.

Climate ⇨ The world’s largest facility dedicated to removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is set to come online tomorrow in Iceland (Link)

The landmark facility is expected to pull 4,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the air annually and store it permanently underground. The plant is named “Orca,” which means “energy” in Icelandic, and is roughly 20 miles southeast of the capital, Reykjavík.

Meet Altos Labs, Silicon Valley’s latest wild bet on living forever

Altos is luring university professors by offering sports-star salaries of $1 million a year or more, plus equity, as well as freedom from the hassle of applying for grants.

Any treatment for a major disease of aging could be worth billions, but Altos isn’t counting on making money at first. “The aim is to understand rejuvenation,” says Serrano. “I would say the idea of having revenue in the future is there, but it’s not the immediate goal.”

PayPal to acquire Japan's (BNPL) Paidy for $2.7bn

The competition in the buy now, pay later market is fierce, and it is becoming a game of capital strength. U.S. payment giant Square announced in early August that it would buy Australia's Afterpay for about $29 billion. Sweden's Klarna raised $639 million in June from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and others, boosting its valuation to about $46 billion.

It’s time for esports to stop idolizing traditional sports

Though it’s likely that many esports leagues will surpass traditional sports viewership numbers in a couple of years—some, like the LCS and LEC, already have—there’s an elephant in the room that esports insiders have long recognized: Though esports viewership is skyrocketing, its financial growth isn’t keeping pace.

Flo raises millions as femtech frenzy continues

The latest example in the space is Flo, creator of a period-tracking app, which announced Thursday that it has secured a $50 million Series B co-led by VNV Global and Target Global.

2021 is a landmark year for the femtech industry, with global VC investment crossing the $1 billion mark for the first time, according to PitchBook data.

Solugen is making chemicals from sugar, not petroleum

The company makes chemicals from custom enzymes and renewable feedstock. It uses dextrose, a simple sugar, and in the future it aims to convert carbon into useful products like building materials and formaldehyde-free resins.

Interesting adjacencies

• Apple plans to add satellite features to iPhones (link)
• El Salvador buys 550 Bitcoin (link)
• Ben Evans on the generational shifts in big company tech (link)
• AI-powered contact lenses (link)
• 3 tech breakthroughs bringing abundant clean energy within reach (link)

‍