[birken]

I think the $400M refers to this [1], which based on the reporting seems to be money AngelList has set aside by some other VC to invest in startups on their platform, but I don't think that money is invested in AngelList itself. I couldn't find any other articles talking about investments in AngelList themselves, but who knows maybe they are worth a ton.

That is a fair point about conflicts, that makes sense. Still though if the cash isn't there, it isn't there. I cannot grasp a startup giving up $12M in cash in this environment unless they are absolutely rolling in dough. Doing an equity deal instead of cash is the equivalent of raising $12M at your current valuation (or whatever made up valuation you give yourself in the acquisition negotiations), which seems like a great deal.

Yes, I have no doubt in this deal the founders have "FU" paper money, but I know for a fact most shops and landlords don't accept that as payment :)

1: https://techcrunch.com/2015/10/12/angellist-csc/