It's changed in that there are more VC's in other places now, and more branch offices. There are VC backed companies that are entirely remote as well.

No - it hasn't.

It's not that they "didn't bother traveling". That's inverted logic.

They would go to where the best ideas are most likely to be. Where are the best ideas most likely to be = SV.

You might instead ask: "Why are there unicorn ideas that are unwilling to present a slide deck in SV?" That would be harder to answer.

My understanding also was that VCs wanted startups close by, so if they found someone elsewhere... they moved them to the area.

I believe it has. We work with a few coastal firms where we were among their first non-traditional tech hub investments and conversations suggest many are looking for gems in new places.

Hasn't changed much, but I think the trend Sam is predicting is that startups will move here to raise money and then relocate.

If the VCs are that lazy, and assuming they still seek for the most profit, wouldn't VCs move to the bay area to find the unicorns? Wouldn't it create a virtuous (or vicious depending on the perspective) cycle of formibg a cluster of the companies and VCs in the area?

Eventually too much of such cycle would give way to the increased cost of living. But I see a tendency of more moderation in employee compensation by big companies, which would favor small startups again around the area.

>VCs didn't bother traveling and funded mostly local companies. Has that changed?

VCs will travel for a great opportunity. If they cant recognize it then they are not good at their job :) (like a lot of VCs)