Comment by ZeroGravitas

So the modern equivalent might be Sunshot where the government recognises a certain area with potential like PV (sort of a Bell Labs innovation coincidentally) and then funds efforts to commercialize and drive prices down while supporting initial business in the field.

https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/sunshot-initiative

A decentralised, non-monopolistic Bell Labs for the 21st century.

Oh, just noticed it was announced by a Bell Labs alumni, Steven Chu, in his role as U.S. Energy Secretary.