Lye itself is pretty low-tech -- but being able to safely and repeatedly hydrate and dehydrate it while controlling the heat transfer, that itself may require some finesse.

That's perfect! You can also dip dough into the NaOH solution and get nice crispy pretzels.

Definition: "Technology that is at the cutting edge".

Fact: Chemically produced lye dates back to at least 1791 with the Leblanc process: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leblanc_process

Yes, it's a little known fact that Babylonians were casting huge perfectly pure silicon crystals. They were also pioneers in x-ray lithography!

Processors are made from sand in the same way people are made from carbon. You're skipping a few important steps.

Skipped steps are called "high-tech".

Who says that high profit implies high tech? Your Wikipedia link only says high tech often offers the potential for high profit.

Is the Large Hadron Collider not high tech if it doesn't turn a profit?

Is potential profit for Science and whole our civilization low in case of Hadron Collider?