As many parents reassessed their roles when school began to close, media and tech companies jumped in to help. We can expect more supportive resources to bridge the learning gaps many of our children faced during the pandemic. These resources include the development of VR headsets, immersive web experiences that do not require specialized apps, 3D scanning with lidar technology, and augmented reality (AR) glasses.

In our Beta Bytes blog this week, we share news on BMW Group's first steps into the world of quantum computing, Peloton Interactive's high-end product upgrade, and General Atomics' self-contained anti-submarine warfare (ASW) package.

In this week's Beta Bytes Blog, we feature news discussing the future of tech regulation and infrastructure projects under President Biden and a COVID-19 vaccination passport initiative by Salesforce, Oracle, and Microsoft.

Happening this week: Qualcomm's upcoming acquisition of server chip starter NUVIA Inc for $1.4 Billion, the future of data storage in DNA and new tech highlights from CES 2021.

2021 is expected to be huge for the private space industry, with companies like Boeing and SpaceX expanding their efforts to put more spacecraft in the air.

China opened up their Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) to international scientists for the first time ever and Salesforce’s former chief scientist has plans to release a search engine capable of competing with Google

Today could be the day that the COVID-19 vaccine is approved, as the last hurdles of final review occur before the expected start of what will be the biggest vaccination campaign in U.S. history.

This week researchers reported that Jupiter is the first planet other than Earth seen to host what appear to be atmospheric light shows called “sprites” or “elves” , another top tech leader is leaving silicon valley, Salesforce announces revenue & new acquisition.

One of the biggest challenges Chief Technology Officers face is actively finding ways to make technology useful, rather than developing technology first and then looking for a problem to solve.

Moderna announces their COVID vaccine has early data showing it is 94% effective (following Pfizer's vaccine trial success), Salesforce introduces their new Revenue Cloud to give businesses agility and make the purchasing process faster, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos donated $30 million to the La Jola Salk Institute for Biological Studies for researching Climate Change solutions.

NASA is partnering with Nokia to put a 4G network on the moon, Google is hit with a new antitrust lawsuit from the department of justice, and Qualcomm backed AiFi Inc. is making moves in San Francisco to install autonomous stores.