What technologies can you think of which didn't have profitable waypoints? - Internet - packet-switching routers for LANs - Microchips - ballistic missile gui

What technologies can you think of which didn't have profitable waypoints? - Internet - packet-switching routers for LANs - Microchips - ballistic missile guidance - Nuclear - radioactive tracers, radiotherapy, watch faces, ... - Microbiology - vaccines, insulin, ... Who on earth is making money out of controlled nuclear fusion? Where are the waypoints? Where can we make something useful in the short to medium time horizon? I also dispute your point of "little appetite for....30+ year timeline" projects, as the MEMS industry has routinely funded 30 year development cycles before technology maturation. The difference is, as I said, there are usually useful waypoints before the technology has fully matured.