Re: commercial pure research?
I think we may have a somewhat fuzzy idea about "pure" and "applied" research. I understood "pure" research to be looking into something to figure out how it works, while "applied" research has a specific goal in mind. All research has the potential of being profitable, if one is allowed to sell the results to interested people.
Sure it's easier to get government money than private money. And most research is a hybrid of both funding sources.