Venture capital investing is not the only method by which to mitigate the risks inherent to innovation. The university system, via tenure and grants, does a go

Venture capital investing is not the only method by which to mitigate the risks inherent to innovation. The university system, via tenure and grants, does a good job of facilitating innovation by mitigating the risks that individual researchers take--even when big capital expenditures are required. Other systems can be envisioned: for instance, a basic income or a negative income tax would remove much of the risk that individual programmers, inventors and tinkerers face when trying to pursue their visions.