Which seems like an improvement, given the current failure mode is projects get cancelled after a billion dollars are spent on them anyways. At least it was partially finished.

No?

How often in software do we see a half finished product or product not designed to scale and we have to start over from the beginning to get it where it needs to go?

You think this doesnt happen in construction projects too? Half building a bridge that you then need to tear down is awful and should not happen. You are just assuming its possible to finish the rest of the bridge later and that critial parts will be available later and that it being in a half finished state for a period of time doesnt cause major issues to the whole thing.