Correct, institutional investors are not retail chumps. They...

Correct, institutional investors are not retail chumps.
They also know the risks - well above 50% of their investments will not return significant funds, but a percentage will produce many multiples of the investment. I'm not sure whether Aftertouch Pay was seed funded, but you would get my drift by looking at it's returns.

With NTC, the jury remains out as I see it. Their target market is large telecommunications companies, with a deeply technical solution, and high potential volumes. They have achieved some success, and are attempting to "cross the chasm" and move from the early innovator market to main street. It appears to me that they have some sales and marketing ability - as they achieved institutional money investment in a capital raising - and that is not particularly easy.

The judgment of investors - institutional or retail reflects competition for scarce resources (money), and likely rational evaluations of where to obtain the returns that they need.

You say that they have already made their decisions, and acted on them - have the institutions reported that they have sold down their holding (I have not checked yet), or are you assuming that this is the case?

Time will tell whether NTC are on an eventual winner, or will be acquired by a larger player with deeper pockets.