As i see it, it is self funding. And the "no" is actually a "not yet". As the author puts it, is a problem to seed investors, because now the founders themselves have the money to their own seed. And nothing has changed to VC capital.

I don't see it as a "2013 trend", it is something that only depends if the founder have a cash reserve or not. I don't think there were many founders seeking seed capital in the past out of absolute need. Not in the past, not now. Maybe these days we have more people saving money with the clear purpose of self-fund for a year or two. Maybe is anedoctal.