[KoftaBob]

Government research funds like this are able to have a much bigger risk appetite than a traditional VC would.

Many moonshot projects require a very large amount of capital to get up and running, and run a high risk of failing. For a typical VC firm, they will rarely choose to invest in something like that if there are other opportunities that don't require as much up front capital, and with better odds of succeeding.

When you don't have LPs and/or shareholders to answer to, you can afford to take greater risks on more ambitious projects.