Public support programs for developing pilot project for new startup?

I am developing pilot project ("pet project") that can implement and demonstrate my ideas from which the startup can grow. My project is quite involved and is about automation of natural langauge comprehension, understanding, reasoning and generation (specifically - law, IT, healthcare are the test areas). My project has 2 features: 1. It is based on Artificial General Intelligence and hybrid neural-symbolic computation. Both are very nascent fields and that is why there is no much scientists around and no much expertise in the business field. That is why the pilot project is necessary to demonstrate that my ideas can clearly work; 2. It can have enormous impact on society and that is why I would like to retain as much control and share as possible after attracting investment (and not to cede this control to investors with dubious ethical goals). I hope that is my pilot project is developed enough then I will have stronger bargaining power to keep that control. My problem is that I am working full time job not related with my pilot project and I am left with only evening hours and some part of holidays for my pilot project - essentially - very little time. My question is - are there government programmes that provides grant to develop such pilot project e. g. for 6 month period. I wonder - why so much money is used for social support, for supporting low income job subsidized job schemes and so little is available for trying out really creative projectes? Maybe some countries have such programs? I am interested in European Union countries especially, but some other experience can be good as well.