Secondly,A Fortune 500 company would not pay money,up front,for RD/Production without having proven itself first. 3M's supplier agreement,for example has rigorous demands placed on the supplier/ manufacturer.
I have something I've been in for over 3 years,same situiation,Fortune 500 comany with over $6B in revenue,engaged in joint RD/production,with no money up front,with a company trading under .10,just the R&D work.