Relative to the software industry, the chip industry has a vast number of highly-obfuscated dependencies, nearly-infinite supply chains, and zero margin for error. Robust profitability, let alone innovation, is very difficult to achieve without monstrous scale. The majority of recent semiconductor industry gains have come only through consolidation, giving chip suppliers more bargaining power while letting them cut s…
This mirrors what I saw as a employee of a non-semiconductor company in the middle of a big chip incubator.
Judging from the cars, the normal people making the most money were the tradesmen building the infrastructure for the tools. The chip guys seemed to work long hours, but relatively few were expressing their compensation with tokens. They also seemed to purge people between projects.