There are plenty of designs where just $10k will get you an ASIC built in some university... It won't be anything like leading edge silicon though, but for some products that's all you need.
With a few micron university process? Yes, can you commercialise it? No.
I believe 180nm has for long been the limit of how "commercially viable" is defined even for stuff like analogue, and discrete logic ICs.
There are plenty of designs where just $10k will get you an ASIC built in some university... It won't be anything like leading edge silicon though, but for some products that's all you need.