I'd recommend taking quotes from a news article with a grain of salt. It's out of context, and you don't get to hear tone of voice or see the expression on his face.
My impression is that there are lots of insecure people who are way overreacting to that comment. He took the sentence "we think the deal we offer is great for the startup companies" and made a geeky joke out of it.
I've had the same reaction as boris when reading the original quote. But what he was talking about was the case where someone turns them down because of the valuation. And I can see Paul's point there, actually.
My impression is that there are lots of insecure people who are way overreacting to that comment. He took the sentence "we think the deal we offer is great for the startup companies" and made a geeky joke out of it.