[janoc]

The mistake in that article is the assumption that these companies collecting those gigantic VC funding rounds are looking to stay ahead of the pack and be there even 10 years down the road.

That's a fundamental misunderstanding of the (especially) US startup culture in the last maybe 10-20 years. Only very rarely is the goal of the founders and angel investors to build an actual sustainable business.

In most cases the goal is to build enough perceived value by wild growth financed by VC money & by fueling hype that an subsequent IPO will let the founders and initial investors recoup their investment + get some profit on top. Or, find someone to acquire the company before it reaches the end of its financial runway.

And then let the poor schmucks who bought the business hold the bag (and foot the bill). Nobody cares if the company becomes irrelevant or even goes under at that point anymore - everyone who did has has recouped their expense already. If the company stays afloat - great, that's a bonus but not required.