[Apocryphon]

Maybe the future is in these over-glorified social media lifestyle companies acquiring or bailing out "worthy" startups working on "hard problems". Sort of like how ad-funded Google is investing in health longevity research and the like.

The future is going to be funded from the largesse of dumb app companies, because the public would rather fund dumb app companies than rocket ship firms.

[vecter]

That or because it's more profitable to do so, especially on a risk-adjusted basis? What's with the negativity around funding apps if they create tangible value? What makes them "dumb"?

If you believe there's some amazing untapped opportunity in funding rocket ship companies, then perhaps you should raise some money from LPs and invest in rocket ship companies.