Arguably pensions, too. Although I don't know of pensions that invest in startups, it wouldn't surprise me to find out there are some given the market these days.
I would also argue that corporate investing arms tick this box. It's "other people's money" twice removed.
In fact, the degree to which you're betting other people's money is probably the rubric here. Angels are investing their money (usually -- crowd funding has made this murkier). VC's are betting an LP's money, and if they fail to return value they will have a hard time raising another fund and will eventually "die". (VCs are the real zombies in the startup ecosystem!) Other entities are further away from the money and the consequences they will feel if the investment doesn't pay off.
I'd also look at motivation. This is another area where governments and corporate investing often fail. Governments are usually motivated in ways that aren't aligned with the startup world, and invest money in ways that seem irrational (at least to a startup) as a result. Corporate investing arms are often treating their investments as an extension of corporate development as well as a way to get an option on ideas that either formally spin out of the company or that people leave the company to start. All of these are subject to distortions that pull them away from focusing solely on chance of success.
I don't think anyone limited it to angels. And governments do investing all the time, they just don't always call it that. Solyndra and 38 Studios are two notable failures, for instance.
Governments also invest indirectly through big contracts, hard to come by so. SpaceX and NASA come to mind as one example, also an exception at the same time
I would also argue that corporate investing arms tick this box. It's "other people's money" twice removed.
In fact, the degree to which you're betting other people's money is probably the rubric here. Angels are investing their money (usually -- crowd funding has made this murkier). VC's are betting an LP's money, and if they fail to return value they will have a hard time raising another fund and will eventually "die". (VCs are the real zombies in the startup ecosystem!) Other entities are further away from the money and the consequences they will feel if the investment doesn't pay off.
I'd also look at motivation. This is another area where governments and corporate investing often fail. Governments are usually motivated in ways that aren't aligned with the startup world, and invest money in ways that seem irrational (at least to a startup) as a result. Corporate investing arms are often treating their investments as an extension of corporate development as well as a way to get an option on ideas that either formally spin out of the company or that people leave the company to start. All of these are subject to distortions that pull them away from focusing solely on chance of success.