Glowing internship reference but no room, possibility for space (if) they launch new fund early next year. Bullshitting or not?

So i've neared the end of an internship at a private equity firm. In Australia. Reasonably established, and hires good IB analysts but not that prominent.

They said my work was excellent. I met targets, i am clearly good and smart. I added value. I did market research and decks to expand a investee company into new markets.

Issue is that they said that they have no room. They are planning to start up other funds, in which case they would require people who do research. In that case, they would have me as first priority as i was an intern and they apparently don't take those lightly. However the fund setting up isn't certain. They will let me know around in March, and then apparently it takes 8 weeks to startup it up.

The guy who said this is the Learning & Development Director. He took me out to lunch to tell me this. Very social, very pleasant experience.

Are they bullshitting me? Is all this just to soften the blow that there's no chance of a conversion?

Someone read between these lines. I know i'm too naiive.