Most important research is done by universities and on public funding. Capitalist structure isn’t very good at providing incentives for fundamental research. The main reason is that companies exist to make profit, and that means pursuing research that can be commercialized in the foreseeable future. On the other hand, a lot of fundamental research doesn’t have any clear immediate application. However, this is the kind of research that results in serious technological breakthroughs as opposed to small incremental gains.