Successful researchers are almost by definition under-paid when their research (area) reaches the top of a hype curve; the success of their research (area) directly causes a massive increase in their value.

10-15 years ago, researchers working on self-driving cars weren't in-demand engineers. They were academic robotics researchers primarily subsisting on grants rather than capital. And CMU isn't in the business of venture capital. They're in the business of doing the research that results in the innovation that venture capital then develops into products.

To put it in SV terms:

* Saying that NREC employees were under-valued during the early days of self-driving is kind of like saying that an early-stage startup was undervalued with ten years of hind-sight.

* Saying that NREC should have increased their pay for those employees to work on (new, different) research projects is kind of like saying that early-stage startups should match Google's salaries for their employees working on a (new, different) startup.

In other words: maybe scientists are underpaid, but the fact that successful researchers can leave academia and make more money is basically a tautology.