Intangible Asset: Technology
The corporate balance sheet carries an asset called Intangible Asset: Technology. It gives a tech company a fair market value — and with it the ability to raise funds for continued R&D by issuing new shares.
How the value is determined
Part A — technology at or above the market top
When the company holds a technology equal to or higher than the current top technology on the market — the Top Tech. column on the Technology page of the Corporate Detail Report:
value = <a constant amount> × (company's tech level − top tech) / top techPart B — new inventions not yet on the market
value = <a constant amount> × (years to invent the product with a single R&D unit)Neither value lasts. Both decline — and can vanish entirely — once other companies start selling products built on the same new technology.