Mission Everywhere

Blenheim Chalcot is opening an office in New York, it's first in the US. The company is a "venture builder" — it seeds and then supports startups in everything from fintech to education and media. The business has 20 companies and thinks it can have an edge in fintech, where it says London is a leader globally. LONDON — A successful British "venture-builder" business is expanding to New York, hoping to show off Britain's expertise in financial technology in America. Blenheim Chalcot, which was founded 20 years ago in London, is opening its first US office in New York. The office will act as a "beachhead" for Blenheim Chalcot-backed businesses looking to expand to the states. Blenheim Chalcot sets up startups and then provides support services to them such as legal, recruiting, IT, and other admin-type tasks, allowing entrepreneurs to focus on building their businesses. Blenheim Chalcot currently supports around 20 companies across fintech,

Engineers and manufacturers have been working to automate the homebuilding process for years, and some startups have already released prototypes of their designs. Until this year, however, nobody has lived in any of these prototypes. This summer, a five-person family in France became the first to permanently live in a 3D-printed home. The 1,022-square-foot home, part of the "Yhnova" project, is located in Nantes.  Below, take a look at the building's construction process and photos of other startups' designs for 3D-printed homes. Yhnova was printed in 54 hours, and contractors spent the next four months adding windows, doors, and the roof. The home was developed by University of Nantes researchers.  According to BBC , they believe the next 3D-printed home could be built in 33 hours. Construction of the building cost about $232,000, which is 20% cheaper than a similarly sized building would usually cost, BBC reported. The University of Nantes teamed up with

The Department of Justice announced on Sunday that it has filed a lawsuit against California to block its new net neutrality law, just hours after it was signed by governor Jerry Brown . The lawsuit was first reported by the Washington Post . Senior Justice Department officials told the newspaper it is filing the lawsuit because only the federal government can regulate net neutrality and that the Federal Communications Commission had been granted that authority by Congress to ensure states don’t write conflicting legislation. In its announcement, the Justice Department stated that by signing California’s Senate Bill 822 into law, the state is “attempting to subvert the Federal Government’s deregulatory approach by imposing burdensome state regulations on the free Internet, which is unlawful and anti-consumer.” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said “under the Constitution, states do not regulate interstate commerce—the federal government does. Once again the California legislature has

Gary Alexander / Seeking Alpha : China-based CooTek, developer of TouchPal Keyboard and other apps, closes down 21% on its first day of trading on NYSE, after raising $52.2M in its IPO   —  CooTek priced its IPO at $12, the low end of its intended range of $12-$14.  —  Shares proceeded to tumble in their first day of trading … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2xYGf2S

Editor’s note: This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter . When readers choose to buy Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and TechCrunch may earn affiliate commissions. When you’re ready to start a small business, having some helpful essentials will make the process a bit easier. Whether you need to print your own business cards or you’re ready to process orders on a reliable laptop, we’ve put together a few of our recommendations that will cover the basics. Photo: Michael Hession                                                                                     Business Card Printing Service: Vistaprint Vistaprint has the best print quality of all the services we tested, and its website offers the best ordering and design experience. If you don’t need a large quantity of business cards , Vistaprint will allow you to order batches as small as 100. You can choose from thousands of templates and a variety of finishes. During printing testing,

Sarah Dai / South China Morning Post : Baidu says its WeChat-like mini-programs platform has surpassed 100M monthly active users since being introduced two months ago   —  Baidu, China's largest search engine operator and artificial intelligence “national champion”, said its mini-programs have amassed 100 million monthly active users since being introduced two months ago. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2Oq7HAM

Washington Post : US Justice Department moves to sue California in order to quash its new net neutrality law   —  The Trump administration said Sunday it will sue California in an effort to block what some experts have described as the toughest net neutrality law ever enacted in the United States … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2Qpz0c3

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica : California governor signs net neutrality bill, which FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called “illegal”, into law, setting up a showdown with the FCC and ISPs   —  California Governor Jerry Brown today signed net neutrality legislation into law, setting up a legal showdown pitting his state … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2xP2byd

Sijia Jiang / Reuters : Source: Tencent Music earned almost $400M in 2017, expects $764M profit in 2018 and revenues to grow 72% to $3.1B   —  HONG KONG (Reuters) - Tencent Music, which owns China's most popular music streaming apps, is often compared to Sweden's Spotify Technology (SPOT.N) but it offers … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2Nbet8R

Laura Lovett / MobiHealthNews : Iowa-based IDx, a developer of AI diagnostic tools for various eye conditions, raises $33M in Series A led by 8VC   —  After landing a De Novo for its AI diagnostic that can detect diabetic retinopathy, the company raised new money in order to expand diagnostic services.  —  What happened from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2OVWll4

Thomas Brewster / Forbes : FBI compelled a suspect to use Face ID to unlock his iPhone X, following other cases where police with warrants unlocked iPhones via Touch ID   —  Privacy concerns around iPhone X facial recognition  —  It finally happened.  The feds forced an Apple iPhone X owner to unlock their device with their face. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2NP3Ttk

Voice assistants like Amazon's Alexa, Google's Assistant, Apple's Siri, and Microsoft's Cortana, are pegged to trigger a widespread transformation across the retail industry in the years to come. The current interest in, and adoption of, voice assistants for commerce is being driven by recent technological breakthroughs, advantages of the tech over existing channels, and the development of voice apps. As consumer demand for voice technology mounts, brands offering this functionality throughout the entire customer journey stand to gain in three key ways. Not too long ago, if your friend had a smart speaker like Amazon’s Alexa or Google's Assistant in their living room, it seemed like a rare novelty. Within a matter of months, however, smart speakers have started becoming household staples — and they’re still only at a fraction of their growth potential. One of the biggest drivers of adoption has been increased functionality. Smart speakers aren’t just changi