As the number of farms in the US declines but the population continues to grow, cities are experimenting with indoor farming as a way to produce locally grown food for their residents.

And some cities...Like Phoenix, Arizona—the country’s fifth-largest city by population—are doing it with the help of federal funding.

• Nestled within the 2021 American Rescue Plan were hundreds of billions of dollars for state, local, and tribal governments, $396 million of which went to Phoenix.
• The city allocated $16.7 million of that money to the Phoenix Resilient Food System, a set of programs designed to make its food supply more resilient, including everything from community food banks to higher-tech projects like indoor farming.

“We see this kind of farming as a way to, one, address our water issues; we know vertical farming takes much less water, and that’s probably highest on our agenda right now,” Rosanne Albright, environmental programs coordinator in the city of Phoenix’s office of environmental programs, told Emerging Tech Brew.

On the other hand...

Not everyone sees vertical farming as a scalable technology. Climate and environmental scientist Jonathan Foley told Emerging Tech Brew that vertical farms are currently more well-suited to growing specific types of crops than becoming core food sources. 

“These are garnishes, essentially, to people’s diets,” Foley said. “They’re not the mainstay of what people need every day, which are more grains, more vegetables, more fruits, nuts, proteins, pulses, things like this. Those are not really grown in vertical farms. they’re good at growing pot, or they’re good at growing salads. That’s kind of what they were always designed for.”

Read the full story here.—JM

If the future of gaming is VR, Sony is doing its best to get ready.

The company’s second-generation VR headset, the PS VR2, is set to release in February 2023 and will cost $550.

• The company plans to make 2 million headsets by March 2023, per Bloomberg; for comparison, in total, 11.2 million VR/AR headsets were sold in 2021, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).

Big picture: The PS VR2 is Sony’s latest bid to compete in the VR headset market, which Meta currently dominates with 86% market share as of Q2 2022, according to IDC, but it comes with a major caveat. Unlike Meta’s standalone headsets, Sony’s product must be connected to a PS5, of which the company has sold 25 million units since its 2020 release.

“[Sony is] consciously gearing it to a smaller, more lucrative market. I don’t think they’re aiming to get a majority of the VR headset sales,” Yoram Wurmser, principal analyst at Insider Intelligence, told Emerging Tech Brew. “In terms of unit sales, that’s definitely going to limit them.”

Even so...Wurmser said Sony’s focus on gaming could be a strength. While Meta’s business strategy is focused on finding an audience for its VR offerings, ranging from workplace apps to fitness to casual gaming, Sony is already a platform for premium gaming.

Read the full analysis here.—JM

Coworking is a weekly segment where we spotlight Emerging Tech Brew readers who work with emerging technologies. Click here if you’d like a chance to be featured.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in tech?

We are the hype team that drives growth and awareness for our data analytics organization. It’s our responsibility to ensure our products are being represented across the business and that we’re seen as innovators in the industry. We do this by creating transformative sales and marketing programs—everything from training programs for our sellers on how to ensure that they’re seen as the experts around this data analytics landscape, to external marketing campaigns for prospects and customers. In addition, we work on go-to-market strategy to ensure a seamless journey for our buyers.

What emerging tech are you most optimistic about? Least? And why?

My friend and I were recently discussing climate tech. It’s an interesting space to watch and learn how we can create solutions to tackle environmental challenges—for example, how data, AI, and ML can be used to address forest management, track ocean data, and advance agriculture and farming practices. Also, my boyfriend introduced me to VR, and I am hooked.

What am I least optimistic about? As cliché as it sounds: Web3 and crypto. I just can’t get behind it. I need to have a better understanding of the bigger impact this has on the global economy versus a race for a bigger bank account. Perhaps that’s because I have not invested in it yet. Can you ask me this again if I ever get skin in the game?

Stat: Ford expects to require 40% fewer workers to build EVs compared with gas-powered vehicles.

Quote: “Cargill is a big ship, and then there are little boats. How do we create little boats around new categories, emerging trends, new technology, and innovation? How can those smaller boats help drive the bigger ship?”—Elizabeth Gutschenritter, Cargill’s managing director of alternative protein, to Emerging Tech Brew

Read: Arc could be the new web browser you’ve been looking for.

Read: Neglecting to comply with data regulations puts companies at increased risk of fines, lawsuits and reputational damage. IT Brew released a guide to meeting five key compliance standards; if this is your domain, check it out.

Recession risks: A macro expert explores how rising rates and oil prices sparked past recessions—and outlines what could be different this time and what he’s watching. Read the full story.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

Time for another news quiz. Can you ace this week’s edition?

Click here to find out.

Catch up on the top Emerging Tech Brew stories from the past few editions:

• How Cargill approaches the evolving world of alt-proteins
• Amid tech industry cost-cutting, workers are getting worried
• Why a major herb grower is switching to a 90% indoor setup