The article makes it sound like the government is investing in startups - that's not really the case.
However, a positive thing I find is that this is second or third iteration of a similar concept that Germany has been trying, and each iteration is fixing the practical problems from the previous.
This system would not work in any way in the U.S, because there is no alternative social system. In Germany, you can choose this route, but you can choose other routes that get you also government money if you are unemployed. So there is no pressure to select this method - unless you want to start a business.
If something like this were introduced in the U.S, seeing as there is no social system or an alternative way to get money if you're broke, everyone would flood this system trying to cart off as much money as they could.
Such a system can only work when there are several other social safety nets - otherwise the system would be heavily scammed.