For a sense of scale, at $475bn it would be bigger than Argentina's economy.

The scale of money going in to support front-end innovation in the US is what first catches your eye.

According to analysis by Gerald Brady, at Silicon Valley Bank, in a webinar hosted by DLA Piper last week, it is more than $475bn as just the “first dollar into innovation to create a patent or a first company”.

For a sense of scale, at $475bn it would be bigger than Argentina’s economy – a top 10 country 100 years ago…