We’re back from our travels and have had a phone glued to our ear since waking, so no column today, though we’re working on something for you. Also, we know we owe a growing number of you an email back about advertising and job listings (among other things). We promise to respond in the next day or two(!).

In separate but related news, VCs, jeebus, slow down on the new fundings already. You’re killing us. It’s December. See your families. Decorate something.

Laura Fitton, a Boston-based entrepreneur and social marketing executive, is now the sixth woman to accuse venture capitalist Shervin Pishevar of sexual misconduct. Axios has more here.

Holy. Bitcoin just zoomed past $14,000.

Today’s StrictlyVC is sponsored by EquityZen. We operate a secondary market for company-approved transactions in pre-IPO stock. Founded in 2013, EquityZen has already closed more than 3,000 investments in 80-plus companies. For as low as $10,000 on your first investment, you can gain access to proven private companies like Spotify, Lyft, and more! Join for free, and begin investing in the private markets: equityzen.com

18Birdies, a three-year-old, Oakland, Ca.-based mobile golf technology startup, has raised fresh funding led by Peter Gotcher and Milwaukee Bucks’ Head CoachJason Kidd. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. The company had raised a separate round of funding in summer that included participation from golf great Ernie Els. Sport Techie has more here.

Avora, a three-year-old, London-based machine learning firm, has raised £1.5 million ($2 million) led by Crane Venture Partners, and was joined by investorsPeter Simon, founder of retailer Monsoon; and Steve Garnett, former chairman of Salesforce EMEA. More here.

BitPay, a six-year-old, Atlanta, Ga.-based blockchain payments technology platform, says it’s raising $30 million in Series B funding led by Aquiline Technology Growth. In 2014, BitPay raised a $30 million Series A round from Index Ventures, Founder’s Fund, Felicis Ventures, RRE Ventures, and Sir Richard Branson. More here.

Burrow, a year-old, New York-based online direct-to-consumer furniture startup that’s centered (first) around a modular sofa, has raised $4.3 million in seed funding led by Red & Blue Ventures. Other participants in the round include Interplay Ventures and notable angel investors, including Twitch.tv founder Justin Kan, Y-Combinator CEO Michael Seibel, and veteran retail executive Ken Pilot. More here.

Cedar, a 1.5-year-old, New York-based medical billing platform for healthcare providers, has raised $13 million in Series A funding from new and earlier backers, including Founders Fund, Thrive Capital, Martin Ventures and SV Angel. More here.

Chattermill, a two-year-old, London-based startup that uses so-called deep learning to help companies make better sense of customer feedback, has raised £600,000 (roughly $800,000) in seed funding from Entrepreneur First,Avonmore Developments, and numerous angel investors. TechCrunch has more here.

Clora, a 1.5-year-old, Cambridge, Ma.-based startup platform that aims to match life science companies with on-demand expertise, has raised $3.3 million in seed funding led by Spark Capital, with participation from Social Capital, Ludlow Ventures, Notation Capital, iSeed Ventures, v1 VC, and KohFounders. TechCrunch has more here.

Contrast Security, a three-year-old, Los Altos, Ca.-based security company that says its tech enables software applications to protect themselves against cyberattacks, has raised an undisclosed amount of new Series C funding from AXA Strategic Ventures and Microsoft Ventures. This tops off an earlier $30 million close led by Battery Ventures in October. SilconAngle has more here.

Compass, a five-year-old, New York-based company whose real estate platform supports the entire buying and selling workflow, has raised $450 million in fresh funding led by the SoftBank‘s Vision Fund in a deal that values the company at $2.2 billion post-money. (That’s up from $1.8 billion just four weeks ago, for those keeping track.) TechCrunch has more here.

Fetch Robotics, a three-year-old, San Jose, Ca.-based platform for collaborative mobile robots, has raised $25 million in Series B funding led by Sway Ventures, with participation from earlier backers O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, Shasta Ventures and SoftBank. Forbes has more here.

ForceManager, a six-year-old, Barcelona-based mobile customer relationship management platform, has raised $12 million in Series B funding led by AXA Strategic Ventures. More here.

Graduway, a four-year-old, London-based maker of alumni software, has raised $12.7 million in funding from Susquehanna Growth Equity. More here.

Indigo Agriculture, a four-year-old, Boston-based startup developer of microbes that help its customers improve their crop yield, has tacked on $47 million in new Series D funding at nearly a $1.5 billion post-money valuation. The round now stands at $203 million altogether. New investors on the second close includeInvestment Corporation of Dubai. Reuters has more here.

Maxwell Financial Labs, a 2.5-year-old, Denver, Co.-based B2B digital mortgage cloud software maker, has raised $3 million in funding led by Anthemis Group and was joined by investors including Route66 Ventures and Assurant. More here.

Metacrine, a 14-month-old, San Diego, Ca.-based biotech startup focused on liver, GI and metabolic diseases, has raised $22 million in Series B funding. New Enterprise Associates led the round, with participation from earlier backers Arch Venture Partners, Polaris Partners, venBio and Alexandria Venture Investments. FierceBiotech has more here.

Modsy, a nearly three-year-old, San Francisco, Ca.-based home decor firm, has raised $23 million in Series B funding led by Advance Venture Partners. Other participants include new backers NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment andComcast Ventures and earlier investors Norwest Venture Partners, Birchmere Ventures, Ame Cloud Ventures, BBG Ventures, and GV. More here.

Movile, a 19-year-old, Brazil-based online marketplace company, has raised $82 million in new funding from longtime backer Naspers and Innova Capital. Most of the proceeds will be used to increase Movile’s stake in Latin American food delivery company iFood, a Latin American food delivery vendor. TechCrunch has more here.

Mswipe, the six-year-old Mumbai, India-based point-of-sale company, has raised $10 million in fresh funding from B Capital, the investment firm of Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin. The capital adds to a Series D round that was largely raised in summer. TechCrunch has more here.

Neumentum, a months-old, Palo Alto, Ca.-based developer of non-opioid pain products, has raised $6 million in Series A funding from undisclosed investors. Drug Delivery Business News has more here.

Ofo, the three-year-old, Beijing, China-based bike-share company, has raised at least $1 billion in new funding from firms that include Alibaba, says the Financial Times. It reports that the company is being valued at $3 billion in the deal —  the same as bike-sharing rival Mobike, with which it dominates the fast-growing market.More here.

Overhaul, a 1.5-year-old, Austin, Tex.-based  real-time visibility and on-time performance management system for the trucking industry, has raised $4.5 million in funding led by Abbey International Finance Group. More here.

ParaGen Technologies, a 1.5-year-old, Columbus, Oh.-based biotech focused on tissue engineering, has raised $4.1 million in seed funding led by Ikove Venture Partners (also of Columbus). More here.

PerceptIn, a 1.5-year-old, Santa Clara, Ca.-based full-stack visual intelligence company, has raised $11 million in funding from Samsung Ventures, Matrix Partners and Walden International. More here.

Prevoty, a four-year-old, L.A.-based automation application security startup, has raised $13 million in Series B funding led by Trident Capital Cybersecurity, with participation from earlier backer USVP. More here.

PullRequest, a months-old, code-review-as-a-service startup, has raised $2.3 million in seed funding led by Google’s new AI fund, Gradient Ventures. The Slack Fund, Fika Ventures, Defy Ventures, Lynett Capital, FundersClub and Joe Montana’s Liquid2 Ventures also participated. TechCrunch has more here.

Sanctuary, a months-old, Venice, Ca.-based digital media company that will focus on astrology and tarot for millennial audiences, has raised $1.5 million in seed funding led by Advancit Capital, with participation from Broadway Video Ventures, Greycroft Partners, KEC Ventures and Blue Collective. More here.

WorldRemit, the seven-year-old, London-based digital money transfer service focused on emerging markets, has raised $40 million in Series C funding. LeapFrog Investments led the round, with participation from earlier backers Accel Partnersand TCV. Bloomberg has more here.

Acceleprise, a five-year-old, an Francisco-based B2B SaaS-focused accelerator, has raised $7 million for its second fund; it’s also expanding to New York City and Melbourne. CNBC has more here.

Sama Fund, a Philadelphia-based firm, plans to raise a $150 million venture fund, according to an SEC filing. The firm’s cofounders include local businessmen Darwin Beauvais and Gerald Jones.

Viola, the Israel-based technology investment group, is launching new independent venture fund that will be targeting fintech startups from anywhere in the world. Dubbed Viola FinTech, the cross-stage venture fund has held an initial close of $100 million but will reportedly raise up to $150 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Vida Ventures, a new Boston-based venture firm, has raised $254.8 million in capital commitments for its debut effort, shows an SEC filing. Among the firm’s cofounders is Arie Belldegrun, formerly the CEO of Kite Pharma. (Kite sold to Gilead Sciences for a whopping $11.6 billion in August.)

Venture debt is a flexible way to extend your runway. Paired with venture capital investment, it can be a powerful tool to accelerate growth. Use the capital to hire the right team, acquire customers, achieve key milestones and reduce dilution in your next round. Want to learn if venture debt is right for your business? Let’s talk.

Payday lenders aren’t getting much traction on Wall Street. Curo Financial, which operates controversial loan firms like Speedy Cash that typically target lower-income borrowers, had a middling start to its IPO today, as unresolved regulatory concerns still loom in Washington. The New York Post has more here.

Bay Area drug developer Denali has upped the number of shares available in its IPO by more than 6 million, translating into a potential $303 million offering before the shares hit the market tomorrow. The San Francisco Business Times takes a look at why the IPO could be huge — or another flop for Alzheimer’s and ALS.

Sounds like the venture-backed media company TheSkimm is looking for a buyer.

The publicly traded, London-based medical manufacturing company Smith & Nephew has acquired Rotation Medical, a Plymouth, Mn.-based maker of medical devices for treating rotator cuff diseases, for upwards of $210 million (including $125m upfront in cash). Rotation Medical had raised $56 million in funding, shows Crunchbase. Its backers include Pappas Ventures, NEA and Life Sciences Partners. More here.

Jo Bertram, who recently stepped down as UK head for Uber, has joined EQT Ventures as an executive-in-residence. The Telegraph has more here.

It’s been six months since The Information published an explosive report about investor Justin Caldbeck, and he wishes everyone would just let bygones be bygones. But his rehabilitation campaign continues not to go so well, note Quartz.

Pinterest today said it is hiring a new head of corporate and business development, bringing on former Facebooker Gary Johnson as it looks to continue to expand. TechCrunch has more here.

Tencent CEO Pony Ma had some tough words for his Chinese Internet company rival Alibaba  yesterday, suggesting Alibaba behaves like an all-powerful landlord that can raise the rent any time it wants. Fortune has more here.

A group of women investors who are determined to increase funding to female founders and are partners who actively lead deals at firms like NEA and Union Square Ventures, are launching the first ‘Female Founder Office Hours’ in New York on January 9. Learn more here.

Following Lyft’s recent $1.5 billion funding round, the company has decided to bring on board Kristina Omari as its first-ever vice president of corporate development and investor relations as it continues to grow. Omari is now the highest-ranking black female executive at Lyft. TechCrunch has more here.

Instagram is testing a standalone messaging app.

Facebook, come on.

America’s top airlines are taking a stand against smart luggage. In a rare bit of solidarity, a number of the country’s top carriers have announced rules that would limit the use of high-tech bags, over fear of potential battery combustion. More here.

How to spot fake Amazon reviews.

Denis Leary always though Matt Lauer was a creep.

The second season of “The Crown” returns tomorrow. So we guess we know what we are doing tomorrow.

Whoa. This, you’ve got to see.

A large Uber shareholder has made an investment in chief U.S. rival Lyft, part of the latest twist in what Recode aptly describes as “the entangled web of ride-sharing deals.” Lyft said yesterday that Fidelity is joining an expanded financing round that’s being led by Alphabet affiliate CapitalG and now values the company at $11.5 billion.

Bitcoin just zoomed past $12,000.

Today’s StrictlyVC is sponsored by EquityZen. We operate a secondary market for company-approved transactions in pre-IPO stock. Founded in 2013, EquityZen has already closed more than 3,000 investments in 80-plus companies. For as low as $10,000 on your first investment, you can gain access to proven private companies like Spotify, Lyft, and more! Join for free, and begin investing in the private markets: equityzen.com

ChemomAb, a six-year-old, Tel Aviv, Israel-based biopharmaceutical firm, has raised $10 million in funding led by Peter Thiel and earlier investor OrbiMed Israel. Other backers in the round include SBI Japan-Israel Innovation Fundand Milestone Venture. Globes has more here.

Enveil, a year-old, Fulton, Md.-based data security company, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from In-Q-Tel, with which it has also struck a strategic partnership. More here.

Guardian Optical Technologies, a three-year-old, Tel Aviv, Israel-based sensor technology maker for automobile manufacturers, has raised $5.1 million in Series A funding from Maniv Mobility and Mirai Creation Fund. Globes has more here.

Hellobike, a year-old, Shanghai, China-based bike-sharing outfit, raised $350 million in its latest funding round from investors that include Alibaba’s Ant Financial. China Money Network has more here.

LaunchDarkly, a three-year-old, Oakland, Ca.-based feature management platform, has raised $21 million in Series B funding led by Redpoint Ventures andVertex. CNBC has more here.

Leapmotor, a two-year-old, Hangzhou, China-based electric vehicle company founded by Dahua Technology, has raised an undisclosed amount of “pre-A” stage funding led by Sequoia Capital China. China Money Network has more here.

Noodle Partners, a four-year-old, New York-based startup that helps colleges create and manage online and hybrid programs, has raised $14 million in Series A funding led by Owl Ventures. EdSurge has more here.

NS8, a 1.5-year-old, Herndon, Va.-based startup that helps aims to protect online companies from fraud, has raised $7.5 million in funding led by Arbor Ventures, and was joined by investors including TDF Ventures and Hanna Ventures. NewsCenter.io has a bit more here.

Pilotworks, a New York-based a community of food entrepreneurs formerly known as FoodWorks, has raised $13 million in Series A funding led by Techstars Ventures and Acre Venture Partners, with participation from other, unnamed investors. More here.

Rani Therapeutics, a five-year-old, San Jose, Ca.-based biotech startup focused on converting injectable drugs into oral drugs, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from the publicly traded biopharmaceutical company Shire as part of a broader research partnership. Rani previously raised around $100 million in venture funding. More here.

Simplus, a three-year-old, Salt Lake City, Ut.-based startup that provides sales quoting and other related software for Salesforce users, has raised $9.3 million in Series B funding led by Epic Ventures, with participation from earlier backers Salesforce Ventures and Cross Creek Advisors. The company also secured $8.5 million in new debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank. Utah Business has more here.

Stateless, a 1.5-year-old, Boulder, Co.-based firm allowing network functions to be consumed through an “as-a-service” model, has raised $1.4 million in seed funding led by Speedinvest, with participation from Techstars, EVO Venture Partners,PV Ventures, and Service Provider Capital. More here.

WM Motor Technology, a three-year-old, Beijing, China-based electric vehicle startup, has raised an undisclosed amount of new funding from Baidu, Amiba Capital and Susquehanna International Group. Reuters has more here.

Jump Capital, a five-year-old, Chicago-based venture firm, has raised a $100 million venture fund, shows a new SEC form. More here.

Red & Blue Ventures, a Philadelphia-based seed fund focused on backing faculty, alums, and current students of the University of Pennsylvania , has raised $13.9 million for its inaugural fund, according to an SEC filing that shows a $20 million target. More here.

At Silicon Valley Bank, our solutions are tailored for high-growth tech startups and busy founders. Our Emerging Technology Bundle has just what you need to get your banking set up quickly, including no minimum balance requirement, no monthly maintenance fees for the first two years and a Mastercard BusinessCard® with auto-pay. Let’s talk about what’s right for your business. Terms and conditions apply. Silicon Valley Bank, Member FDIC.

Go-Jek, Indonesia’s first billion-dollar tech startup, has a ‘set plan’ to become a listed company, Chief Executive Officer Nadiem Makarim said. “We are definitely going to IPO,” Makarim said at Bloomberg’s Year Ahead Asia Conference in Jakarta Wednesday. The initial public offering is expected “hopefully within the next few years,” he said. Bloomberg has more here.

British car insurer Sabre has priced its IPO at the middle of its targeted range, a move that will give the company a market value of £575 million. “Conditional dealings” in the shares start  this morning, with full trading expected on December 11, says the Financial Times.

Hong Kong is on track to lose its much-coveted crown as the world’s top IPO market as the year draws to a close, with the latest figures showing that total funds raised in HK have dropped 48 percent compared with 12 months ago, leaving the city ranked third behind New York and Shanghai. South China Morning Post hasmore here.

It’s official. Mashable, the digital media publisher, has been sold to Ziff Davis, a digital media subsidiary of tech company J2, for less than $50 million, says Recode, adding that its new owners plan to lay off about 50 of the site’s employees.. More here.

Sprout Social, a seven-year-old maker of social media management, analytics and advocacy software, has acquired social analytics firm Simply Measured. Sprout Social has raised roughly $61 million from investors, shows Crunchbase. Simply Measured, which is also seven years old, had raised $29 million.

Baidu’s former M&A director, Peter Fang, has joined Sinovation Ventures as a partner, where he’ll focus on AI and other relevant technologies, according to a Sinovation announcement. Fang previously worked for Sinovation from 2011 to 2014. More here.

FirstMark Capital, the New York-based venture firm, has hired Beth Ferreira as a managing director. Ferreira was most recently a managing partner at WME Ventures. She is also, notably, the second female managing partner that FirstMark has brought aboard recently. Its first female MD, Catherine Ulrich — who was previously the chief product officer at Shutterstock and, before that, Weight Watchers — joined the firm exactly two months ago.

Suneel Gupta, a former Groupon VP turned founder whose nutrition coaching app, Rise Labs, sold last year to One Medical, is planning to run for Congress in Michigan.

Foursquare’s VP of business development, Mike Harkey, has left to join Google as its director of global product partnerships. Harkey had spent roughly five years with the social app company. More here.

Shervin Pishevar, co-founder of Sherpa Capital and co-founder of Hyperloop One, is taking a leave of absence from both companies, as well as from his board responsibilities at Sherpa’s portfolio companies, following sexual assault and harassment allegations. More here.

Google is looking to hire a corporate development strategy and scouting principal. The job is in Mountain View, Ca.

A look at the ten best U.S. tech companies to work for, per Glassdoor.

Google and Amazon are punishing their own customers in a bitter feud.

Yahoo’s new owner Oath — which, in turn, is owned by telecom giant Verizon — is now in a legal battle with browser company Mozilla over a search deal that was struck by former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Recode has more here.

Which TV actors get paid the most?

The best books of 2017.

How the index card catalogued the world.

Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night Live . . . playing cards!