There is a feedback loop here. They help fund existing ideas, get more people/companies involved, raise awareness on certain problems, and motivate more participants to do relevant research.
So do they "invent"? ...well that's a semantic argument. The point is they absolutely help make things happen.
My question is... do they really? They happen to be around when tech moves, but would it have moved without them? It's a historical counterfactual, and hard to argue about. I'm skeptical and I'm more skeptical of ARPA-e.
So do they "invent"? ...well that's a semantic argument. The point is they absolutely help make things happen.