The private actors are the ones who pay for the R&D, to the tune of $70 billion/year. That's on the same order as total annual venture capital spending nationwide ($70-$80 billion/year from 2014-2017, though 2018 was an outlier at $130 billion).
These amounts are small enough where the U.S. government could pretty easily cover the expenditures. So by your logic, why do we need Silicon Valley venture capital? Why not just have the government pay for the R&D and make the results freely available to everyone?
Either the government is good at allocating capital for high-tech R&D or its not. Whether you're talking about medical tech or computer tech doesn't make a difference.
These amounts are small enough where the U.S. government could pretty easily cover the expenditures. So by your logic, why do we need Silicon Valley venture capital? Why not just have the government pay for the R&D and make the results freely available to everyone?
Either the government is good at allocating capital for high-tech R&D or its not. Whether you're talking about medical tech or computer tech doesn't make a difference.