There is a missing bit of perapective: many EU startups rely on grants for bootstrapping because investors here are a lot more risk averse here. They commonly let folks get their startup to an MVP and become investable.
The other factor is that they come in waves: there could be many grants for your startup for a few years, then government focus shifts and they dry up, then 5 years later they might come again
Aquiring the grants and completing the required paperwork feels a lot like doing schoolwork - it's tedious, but certainly doable, I have won 2 grants a few years back for my startup, its not like you have to be a big corp to stand a chance.
I won a grant for our company, roughly 600k, but it took nearly 2 years until the first money hit our bank accounts and the ongoing documentation effort is really slowing a lot of things down.
But it might be because it's Germany, you have to use your regional bank for the process and ours was horrible.
The other factor is that they come in waves: there could be many grants for your startup for a few years, then government focus shifts and they dry up, then 5 years later they might come again
Aquiring the grants and completing the required paperwork feels a lot like doing schoolwork - it's tedious, but certainly doable, I have won 2 grants a few years back for my startup, its not like you have to be a big corp to stand a chance.