What's Possible: 13th August, 2021

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

In case you missed it, Ben Thompson's take on metaverse mania

The key difference between the Internet and the metaverse is the idea of “presence”.

Azeem Azhar's post, The week that crypto grew up, provides context to Kevin Werbach's important essay on the US infrastructure bill vs crypto.

This past week in Washington DC, an unstoppable force met an immovable object. The result wasn’t what you might expect.

Why investors are raising climate tech funds at a torrid pace

So far in 2021, global investors have already closed as many climate-focused funds as were raised during the previous five years combined, according to PitchBook data. The flood of capital has led to a remarkable first half of the year for VC-backed climate tech companies, which have raised more than $14.2 billion worldwide.

A comprehensive list of the Unicorns, Soonicorns, and Minicorns of Online Travel in 2021

Online Travel is one of the most active sectors for investors, with an overall funding of USD 70.7B in 3.3K+ companies. It is also interesting to note that more than one third of the funding has been raised in the last 3 years (2018-2020).

Luxury Marketplace Chrono24 Nets $118M In Series C Funding

Online luxury purchases grew 39 percent worldwide year over year in both April and May of 2020. Online retail sales are expected to account for 25 percent of total luxury purchases by 2025, up from 10 percent in 2019.

Chris Sacca invests another $800 million to address the climate crisis

“Well, Lowercarbon now has another $800 million, in fiat, to keep unfucking the planet.”

Improving mental health with gaming techniques

Many adults aren’t sleeping well. Revery wants to help with an app that combines cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for insomnia with mobile gaming concepts.

California Energy Commission mandates solar for new buildings from 2023

The California Energy Commission’s five-member panel voted unanimously yesterday to require solar panels and battery storage in new commercial buildings and certain multifamily residences beginning January 1, 2023.

KPMG report on investments in crypto and blockchain

The data shows that the value of investment deals in the crypto sector in these first six months of 2021, was $8.7 billion.

New law brought in for use of 3D printing in the UAE construction sector

The new legislation is said to support Dubai’s strategic target to ensure that 25% of its buildings are constructed using 3D printing technology by 2030. The decree also aims to promote Dubai as a regional and global hub for the use of 3D printing technologies.

What is CAPSTONE?

As a precursor for Gateway, a Moon-orbiting outpost that is part of NASA’s Artemis program, CAPSTONE will help reduce risk for future spacecraft by validating innovative navigation technologies and verifying the dynamics of this halo-shaped orbit.

DeepMind says it will release the structure of every protein known to science

Deepmind has announced that it has used its AI to predict the shapes of nearly every protein in the human body, as well as the shapes of hundreds of thousands of other proteins found in 20 of the most widely studied organisms, including yeast, fruit flies, and mice. The breakthrough could allow biologists from around the world to understand diseases better and develop new drugs.

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