throwaway2948

Thank you, this makes me feel a bit better.

Actually I've had "money back" twice from AngelList. Once a startup got acquired (for like 3-4x), another one shut down and distributed the remaining funds.

But I did not withdraw it and just reinvested to other startups, so in that sense I've never received money from them.

Right, that's why I'm also working with the assumption they are legit. Just too high-profile not to be.

But what's to prevent a rogue syndicate from taking money without actually investing it forward...

I would try contacting the startup to confirm they have received investment via AngelList, but conveniently their terms forbid you from contacting startups directly.