VCs are also unwilling to participate in technological development that does not lead to a successful IPO, merger or acquisition. It is from these ‘exit’ opportunities that they derive their profits. While a high degree of speculation is behind all VC investment decisions, they are unlikely to invest at all without a strong push from government in the form of a targeted technological development. Indeed, in the absence of an appropriate investment model, VC will struggle to provide the ‘patient capital’ required for the full development of radical innovations. In the innovation game, it is crucial that finance be ‘patient’, and be able to accept the fact that innovation is highly uncertain and takes a long time (Mazzucato 2010).

— The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths by Mariana Mazzucato (Page 148)