Angel Investors Counter Y Combinator Start Fund With New $100 Million Early Stage ?End Fund?

In a move reminiscent of AngelGate, Silicon Valley's top angel investors are banding together to counter what they're considering an existential threat. That threat? Start Fund, a new investment entity created by DST's Yuri Milner and Ron Conway's SV Angel. Start Fund shocked Silicon Valley in January when they announced that they'd offer every new Y Combinator startup $150,000, site unseen and without any due diligence.

Angel investors panicked, realizing that Start Fund would likely result in soaring valuations. Y Combinator startups were no longer cash strapped, and negotiating leverage moved dramatically in their favor. "Start Fund was created to take traditional angel investors out at the knees," said one such investor. "It's highly irresponsible to invest in companies you've never met, and there will be unintended consequences that could hurt Silicon Valley over the long run."

Top angel investors were already meeting regularly to align investment strategies to keep startup valuations down. The collusion involved an unspoken agreement (known as the "$4 million line") not to compete for deals but rather to let one angel lead a deal and set valuation and then that angel would let the others invest alongside them.

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