Software R&D (especially for new initiatives) is typically not capitalized so if a lot of investment is in software than it would show up as operating expenses rather than capex.
I got an idea: build the software, synthesize it into a chip with almost no mask cost, buy the chip, run it in production (as a standby), use the "software version of the chip" for production, and write it off as hardware investment (capital).
Even when software R&D is capitalized, it's often capitalized over just 2 years, so the net effect is close to expensing it, assuming this year's expenses are reasonably close to last year's.
