Military/intel/fedgov are still the main drivers of technology, actually probably moreso now than ever. The low hanging fruit are fewer and fewer and giant monopolies on the scale of Bell Labs don't really exist anymore. Just take a look at In-Q-Tel for a public example, then think about the academic research sponsored directly and indirectly, then there's all the nonpublic stuff on top. A ton of companies exist only to supply government, and more depend on government as a/the major customer. The cutting edge will always be there, following the money.