No. Almost all deals on AngelList are private to accredited investors only. This means that they fall under the 506(b) regime and are not public fundraising under Reg A or general solicitation under 506(c). However, companies can elect to raise under general solicitation if they wish.
Public fundraising allows startups to tell the general public they're raising money—on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, TV, advertisements, etc. The legal term for public fundraising is ‘general solicitation’.
Whether startups raise money publicly or not, they can only accept money from accredited investors.
Startups that raise publicly also have the legal burden of verifying that their investors are accredited.
If a startup that raised publicly closes their round on AngelList (via syndicates), AngelList will handle all 506c investor verification.
Good question. Public fundraising can be useful for companies with a customer base of accredited investors (e.g. service for physicians) or for companies with a large social media reach.
However, startups should be aware that enabling public fundraising will make it easier for press to disclose details about their fundraising efforts. Also, verifying that all investors are accredited takes time and effort, and may discourage some investors from participating in the deal.
By default, startup fundraising information is just available to investors. This prevents the general public from seeing fundraising information.
To avoid triggering the requirements of general solicitation, don't promote your raise publicly, and ask your employees, investors and advisors to refrain from public discussion also.
AngelList only supports fundraising from accredited investors (whether you raise money publicly or not).
The SEC has adopted “crowdfunding” regulations that allow startups to raise money from non-accredited investors on certain registered crowdfunding platforms such as Republic.