These days, the venture guys want to be seen as angels. There's a new ethos at work in the industry. For years, traditional venture firms were willing to let the angels get in--for merely $100,000--at ground zero, paving the way for the big boys to move in with the "real" financing. But then came the arrival of the super-angels, who were willing to put up a lot more. These now-professional angels and angel funds have emerged as a huge force that has identified companies like Digg, Ning and Powerset. Obviously, this is encroaching on traditional VC turf. The big boys are now fighting back and getting a lot more angelic. Top-name VC firms are responding by doing a lot more seed work, making more small investments and using loans to test unproven companies.

For more:
- here's a Business Week online article