Your vision of anti corporatism will be hard to realize in today's developed world, but this is the exact kind of use of resources that humanity needs. Would you rather YC reinvest their profits into making more money like most business do? Or invest their profits into answering questions about humanity and its potential future that are unanswered?
Also, would you really want our education to be sponsored and paid for by Coca Cola?
If we take into account science fiction, humans could establish a colony on another planet. This would be considered a city and the research could answer some interesting questions. Flying out a bunch of humans in a spaceship that takes multiple generations to reach its destination would be considered a traveling space city. This research could answer some interesting questions.