The big question I have is, why the multiple optimization cycles? Nobody in the technology world puts out a perfect product in the first go around. If real products can be introduced earlier to the market, with some initial customer feedback from early adopters along with some early initial revenue from the first go around,  further improvements can be made by the team in parallel and provide incrementally improving versions to the market instead of trying to get the holy grail off the bat and potentially missing the boat.

Unless the current level of optimization does not allow for a sellable product, I don't understand why they are not moving forward with prototypes at the current level of optimization. It feels like this stage has been beaten to death, and on going for a very long time and others are catching up, and they need to get something out there ASAP.

Just hearing the term optimization over and over again makes me cringe with the increased risks of competition as months go by with nothing in the hands of customers yet.