Intel and SpaceX are less vulnerable to competition because it takes hundreds of billions of dollars to compete with them (nonetheless, they do have competitors

Intel and SpaceX are less vulnerable to competition because it takes hundreds of billions of dollars to compete with them (nonetheless, they do have competitors). This is not the case with anything that's in bootstrap or even VC territory. In principle, the same concept applies, it's just that it's too expensive for new entrants to come in to those industries, so they mostly don't have to worry about it. It should also be noted that businesses in other industries often attempt to install similar barriers to entry for themselves; suppressing competition is a huge part of remaining the big dog. I hate to say it, but "tech companies" are "patent companies". If you have a patent on the technology and someone decides that it's not worthwhile to try to work around it, they'll license the patent, or maybe even buy your company if your patent portfolio is strong enough. In terms of an unpatented innovation by itself or actual software, it's not worth much on its own.