No, Indie really meant it. I think. Wanted to fund the founders who were bootstrapped until that point.

However, do not be surprised about co-opting. Co-opting by venture capitalists is normal. Many industries co-opt things as well, and redefine them to be mean something more “efficient”.

Example: The terms friend and like were co-opted by Facebook. Now people say friend me and “please like my stuff” as a throwaway statement. These terms used to mean something deep and genuine up to 15 years ago. That’s what capitalism does - cheapens things and commoditizes them. Often, that is useful but sometimes it cheapens things you used to value highly.