My opinion as an amateur technical guy is that it doesn’t take enormous equipment or enormous amounts of money to develop a better solar cell. Any solar cell technology can be tested with a sample less than an inch square. Efficiency, life expectancy, and cost to manufacture are the key parameters.
For an example of the progress of large semiconductors, look no further than the beautiful, large video displays we have now. Done without subsidies.
A winning solar collector would bring in enormous amounts of money to its developer/patenter.
The dirty coal consumed to manufacture in China, and the petroleum used to ship, install, and maintain solar panels uses more total energy than the solar panels will ever generate. In other words solar isn't helping anything.
There have been ENORMOUS sums of money poured into solar cell material research by private companies and by NASA (who I contract to work for).
Any big advances now will be more by happenstance.