Curated VC Deals & Data . Sign Up | Forward 

Marissa Mayer Is Still Here. The former Yahoo chief is renting Google’s original office, where “there’s a lot of good juju,” and planning her next act. She just won’t say what it is.

Marissa Mayer was celebrated as a savior when she left Google to become chief executive of Yahoo in 2012. A brilliant computer scientist, Ms. Mayer was the 20th employee at Google, and influenced many of the company’s signature features — including Gmail and Google Maps.

But could she save Yahoo? The company was reeling from boardroom tumult and a series of executive changeovers when she arrived, and Google and Facebook were winning the war for online eyeballs and ad dollars. [ NY Times ]

Susan Fowler’s next act: Ending forced arbitration, which blocks workers from suing their employers

In the months after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler published her viral account of the harassment and sexism she faced at the company — which led to a massive executive shake-up at Uber and a Time magazine “Person of the Year” cover for Fowler — she struggled with what she wanted to do next with her newfound platform. [ Recode ]

Three Princeton grads just got $133 million from Silicon Valley's hottest investors for a cryptocurrency that could actually replace money

• Basis, a cryptocurrency startup from three Princeton graduates is creating a "stable" currency of the same name.
• The company just raised $133 million in a round backed by prominent firms including GV (formerly Google Ventures), Bain Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Andreessen-Horowitz, and Sky Capital.
• Basis says that it's creating a cryptocurrency with a stable, predictable value, that can be used to make payments — instead of being relegated to a method of speculation, like other coins. [ Business Insider ]

Fintech lender raises $65M to expand in developing nations

A U.S.-based lender that targets borrowers in developing nations where credit scores are often hard to come by has raised $50 million in new equity funding. Tala, based in Santa Monica, Calif., plans to use the latest round of funding to develop new products for its customers in Kenya, Tanzania, the Philippines, India and Mexico. 

It also raised $15 million in debt capital that it will use to fund loans. 

Meet the 30 Most Inspiring Young Entrepreneurs of 2018

Nothing better illustrates the vibrancy of entrepreneurship than Inc.’s Rising Stars, the inspiring under-30 founders who are blazing paths in fields ranging from diamond-making to tech to beekeeping. Presenting the Inc. 30 Under 30 stars of the future—and today. [ Inc. ]

A NYC office brokerage startup just raised $7M in a Series A round

Office brokerage startup SquareFoot raised $7 million in a Series A funding round, the company announced Wednesday. Rosecliff Ventures led the round. Peak Partners, RRE Ventures, Primary Venture Partners, Armory Square Ventures and Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator also chipped in. [ The real deal ]

Guestfriend automates chatbot creation for restaurants

BenevolentAI, which uses AI to develop drugs and energy solutions, nabs $115M at $2B valuation

CoinList Cofounder Andy Bromberg and Ramon Recuero​

Asian Tech Bypasses Silicon Valley For IPO And VC Deal Sizes But Not Clout

Net-a-Porter Founder Launches Venture Capital Firm Targeting E-Commerce Startups

A new startup is disrupting the piggy bank with a cryptocurrency wallet for kids

Fireside Chat: To Be Funded or Not to Be Funded

One company, two sides of the funding debate. Medallia, #7 on Forbes' 2017 top 100 private SaaS companies, bootstrapped for 10 years, then took $255M in investment from Sequoia Capital over the past 6+ years. Company co-founder Amy Pressman talks about the pros and cons of being bootstrapped vs investor-backed and provides tips for entrepreneurs about how to go it alone (even in Silicon Valley!). [ Youtube ]

Take Your Startup From Launch To Acquisition, All While Traveling And Working Remotely

Venture capital firm co-founder: I wanted to 'solve my own personal pain point'

Here's how much CEOs earn compared to other employees

Drift raises $60 million to grow its conversational sales and marketing platform

Emphasizing social, shareable and meaningful work, Girlboss launches a new site