Last time I asked (3 or 4 years ago), the smallest installation was ~$100k, and it was a multi-core installation.

IIRC in 2006 they mentioned that they were willing to entertain other financing models (such as equity) if it makes sense, although I have no idea how common that was, or if they are still considering it.

Regardless, the claim that "you can't afford to run it on your home computer" is preposterous - k itself is free for noncommercial use, and kona and J are free, both libre and gratis.