The set of requirements to raise a seed round changes as the set of requirements to launch, test and validate an idea changes.<p>Money from seed rounds in the past would be usually spent in infrastructure and distribution. With cloud providers and app stores that part of equation got changed, so <i>some</i> ideas (not all) can be validated on the cheap. (I believe even one of your examples, Google, existed as a proof of concept product called Backrub, working on Stanford network, before the incorporation event took place).<p>Another point is that investors judge the pitch by the quality of other pitches they heard this day&#x2F;week&#x2F;month&#x2F;year. If you browse AngelList, there are companies raising seed rounds with a functional team, a built-out product, traction and a plan to scale. If someone comes right after them and tries to raise a similar round with nothing but a Powerpoint deck, they will be (even subconsciously) compared against the others.