Part of me thinks that that before they gave the $130M they knew exactly how they'd get it back (thru some pre-arranged M&A) if it doesn't work out. Or at least that would be the smart thing to do.
I spent $10 on a bad apple and it got $0 back. Then I go and sell that bad apple for $10. Whomever bought it is giving me back my money. This is kindergarten level arithmetic.
I didn't mean that it's mathematically impossible. I meant that it's practically not gonna happen. Much as they'd love to, no VC gets a chance to invest in an early stage startup knowing that if the startup fails, there's a buyer ready to make the VC whole.