You’ve got the flow backwards. Giant rich companies contribute projects that solve their problems to the ASF
That criticism doesn't really make sense, given that Apache the non-profit isn't developing the software.
But it is funding it
The Apache Foundation isn't funding development in any meaningful way, no.
What does the Apache Foundation do/provide/give these projects if no funding is involved? Is it just like a governance thing like "if this project falls into an abandoned state, we'll oversee the process of transferring ownership to any interested and credible parties interested in taking over"?
Mostly a governance thing, yes. "Community infrastructure, coordination and legal framework in a box".