If the tech world has proven anything at all it is that:

    huge budget != disruptive innovation

At least not as a rule.

Think about how most (all?) of the top tech companies you know about started: garages, dorms and kitchen tables. HP, Apple, Microsoft, Google, eBay, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Sure, some needed huge money to scale, but the genesis of the idea-turned-product did not require millions or billions to generate.

Sometimes you have to wonder if hunger is far more valuable than money to spur innovation. I happen to think so. And, while I do not diminish the work being done at companies like MS, sometimes I feel that they are just throwing money at PhD's who are having a great time playing with interesting tech but simply don't have the drive, hunger and urgency to make something more than a great research gig out of it.