One almost off topic reason is that it seems like today an innovative and successful tech company will face irresistible acquisition offers from one of the "tit

One almost off topic reason is that it seems like today an innovative and successful tech company will face irresistible acquisition offers from one of the "titans." When the offer make the founder a billionaire it will be rare that they are rejected. If they are, I bigger offer will soon follow. Everyone has a price and these cashed up companies have deeper pockets than any company has ever had. The near inevitability of this acquisition (hinted at by Carmack) is IMO the significant element. In this environment, Google could have gotten near their IPO value years earlier from an acquiring company. Current crop of titans would have been owned by the previous crop and we would be poorer as a whole. When acquisition offers outpace revenue to this degree it seems almost impossible for a company to stay independent.