I have been an EE for 20 years. I think one of the things driving it is the increase in productivity. I can do a lot more with my RF/Microwave design software

I have been an EE for 20 years. I think one of the things driving it is the increase in productivity. I can do a lot more with my RF/Microwave design software than 20 years ago, so I am now probably doing the work of two people. There is also consolidation with complexity. How many 5G chipsets do you need when 95% of the phone market is held by two manufacturers? Hardware is expensive to develop and takes time. Investors/companies want cheap and fast, and are unwilling to fund R&D.