What role does the development of complex algorithms play in the entrepreneurship ecosystem?
There are a number of companies that have been built around complex algorithm development. Probably the most well known example is Dolby Laboratories (NYSE: DLB), a developer of audio processing and compression technologies and algorithms. The market capitalization of Dolby on August 19, 2009 was $4.55 billion. Dolby is somewhat unusual, being a rare example of an extremely successful technology licensing company. It is usually difficult to build a large company based on technology licensing rather than direct sales of products or services. Speech recognition companies such as Nuance (NASDAQ: NUAN) are other examples of companies built around the development of complex algorithms. Nuance had a market capitalization of $3.23 billion on August 19, 2009. Historically, there have been a number of small companies involved in product development, consulting, and technology licensing in complex algorithm development. The more successful of these small companies have often been acquired by lar
