🔮 Big Tech & the metaverse; chips & future compute; Fortnite, genes & pointillism ++ #356

Hi, I’m Azeem Azhar. I convene Exponential View to help us understand how our societies and political economy will change under the force of rapidly accelerating technologies.

This week on the podcast

On this week’s podcast, I spoke to Michelle You, co-founder and CEO of Supercritical, a London-based startup that helps tech companies plan their path to net-zero emissions. She and I discussed how emerging technologies will help make carbon removal part of the climate fight, and the importance of fixing carbon markets.

🎧 You can listen to our conversation here or 📄 read a full transcript.

The near future

🕹️ Bids on the future
Microsoft’s intention to acquire the gaming giant Activision Blizzard is a serious move to stake out its place in the expanded future of the Internet, a.k.a. the metaverse. For a staggering $69 billion – a sum larger than four of Microsoft’s largest acquisitions together to date – Microsoft is sure to position itself as one of the largest gaming companies in the world…