Not really. Yeah, none of the options are great. I'd prefer a nominal payment TBH, but many people would probably not be keen on that (as expensing it could be an issue)

I didn't realise you were giving time away on FPGAs. Probably the best option would be to have a lighter preview that just shows the UX but not simulation, for anonymous users.

Unless you really expect your business to be mostly high-touch sales, giving your potential customers as much information as possible before you demand anything from them is probably the best strategy

"How sarcastic do you want your answer?"

Yes!

One option I've seen work for a similar requirement is email verification on any corporate address. All you want to know is that they're legitimately connected to a legitimate prospective customer, just make them answer an e-mail on the company's domain.

IMO email+password and/or Google sign-in are much better options.