This would very much make sense and generate direct real world products. However, I fear academia is in itself a very competitive space for resources that doesn't necessarily want to open up for outsiders.

Well universities have no qualms about making private relationships to help subsidize private research. Let's not worry about problems that don't exist or are trivially solved.

Can you give an example of what you mean?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/12/06/academi...

https://archive.ph/0MzkZ

https://www.wired.com/story/top-ai-researchers-financial-bac...

I live in Cambridge, MA there are dozens of these relationships going on; big tech offers lucrative access to cutting edge hardware in return for closed research.

Just more insidious ways on how big tech requires massive amounts of welfare to exist and persist.

Your first sentence and second sentence don't reconcile in practice.