[aprdm]

I think you're not seeing it through the same lens :) Look for example all machine learning, hardware, AI, LLM, etc.

None of that came to be used in the world due to University departments. Maybe some of the theory behind it, sure, but making it useful in the real world through engineering, no.

Microsoft "side project" innovation vs current Microsoft innovation (e.g: what goes into building something like Azure or ChatGTP backend) is also very different :)