[dvt]

> ... it leaves me questioning what the value of doing really hard technology is as a startup

Totally agree with this sentiment. I think this is why most "hard technology" problems are left to huge R&D departments or the government. Both of which aren't particularly nimble or profitable. There are a few notable exceptions (Oculus comes to mind), but most unicorns don't generally deal with solving tough problems. It's mostly about product-market fit and the balance sheets.

[StacyRoberts]

That tech isn't left to them it's just Survivor bias. Those teams fail at hard tech all the time. They're just still here