Paying people to leave academia does not seem like a major endorsement of the academic system. No one is arguing that intelligent people who have spent years working in a field aren't valuable, just that they might not be reaching their full potential under the current conditions.
Further, I would recommend very strongly against using big companies as the gold standard of innovation, especially not efficient innovation.
Then I wonder who you think does the most efficient innovations. Apparently it's not universities like MIT. It's not big companies with research institutes like Bell Labs. The military? Please don't say VC funded startups.
Further, I would recommend very strongly against using big companies as the gold standard of innovation, especially not efficient innovation.