Did they do what Apple did and setup a seed fund to get startups ready to compete with the big platforms?

See iFund (2008): https://www.macrumors.com/2008/03/06/ifund-to-offer-100-mill...

The fact is, you should incentivize funders/investors, not developers. The developers will follow if they have a hot new startup where they can (potentially) mint money using your seed capital.

However, I agree this only works if you aren't seriously late to the party.