> This is a barrier to entry that few companies can really climb over anymore, with 500 million in R&D only possible by a few companies I wonder what could be

> This is a barrier to entry that few companies can really climb over anymore, with 500 million in R&D only possible by a few companies I wonder what could be done to reduce that barrier. It sounds as though there is a lot of value that could be unlocked by making it easier (cheaper) to get over it. I imagine a company that could drop the Verification or Software costs down by an order of magnitude would suddenly find itself with a long lineup of customers. After all, if only 270 companies can currently get over that barrier, reducing the barrier by even $50m or $100m would open up the market to a large number of companies, all with fairly large pockets and a strong incentive to be customers. And of course, I say this having never worked in the hardware design industry, so all are welcome to explain in excruciating detail how naïve I am.