At the same time startups in Germany are heavily lobbying for additional provisions in the economic relief programs to cover startups as well.

Reading between the lines, "startups" (they are companies and thus eligible anyway based on standard conditions) refers to companies relying completely on external funding in the pursuit of positive cash flow and profitability further down the line. Looks a lot like a covered bailout for VCs and other investors. Because if a company was profitable before Corona, meaning banks would have provided credit already, the government is making it a lot easier and cheaper to get additional credit lines.