"Because of [Symbolics' automated design] methodology, we were able to do five different revs of the chip on four different technologies, which was pretty amazing [for the time]. ... We took about 10 to 12 man-years to do the Ivory chip, and the only comparable chip contemporaneous to that was the MicroVAX at DEC; I knew some people who worked on that, and their estimate was that it was 70 to 80 man-years to do the MicroVAX. That in a nutshell is the reason that the Symbolics lisp machine was great." -Kalman Reti (2012) https://youtu.be/OBfB2MJw3qg
Non-blub work environments bring sone fantasy-tier goals down to just within possibility by a motivated team of geniuses, which Symbolics had. Reminds me a little of how Alan Kay describes the forgotten art of Starrett erecting the empire state building in under a year: "Gentlemen, this building of yours is going to present unusual problems. Ordinary equipment won't be worth a damn on it. We'll buy and make new stuff, fitted for the job. That's what we do on every big job; it costs less than renting secondhand stuff, and it's more efficient." https://youtu.be/QboI_1WJUlM