This helps explain the dominance of the US in these fields. But government funding is no guarantee of success. Innovation is increasingly something done across companies, rather than simply by one company. Innovation thus relies much more on networking and co-operation, including between science and industry. As the costs and risks of innovation have increased, firms have become more specialised, shifting from an inward to a more outward orientation.
Companies can no longer cover all relevant disciplines.
More of the financing of innovation is now directed towards new firms and risky projects. Here the US leads, as a result of its great availability of venture capital. Venture capital markets have boomed in recent years, doubling in North America and more than tripling in Europe. This also helps us understand why the US has led the ICT revolution and why Wall Street leads world sharemarkets in both its ups and downs. Innovation is much more global.