Airbus and Boeing
Always check the details. A company may require that the applicant has a specific rating, or offer a bond scheme for non-rated pilots. This means that they company will pay for the type rating and the applicant will be signing a contract with a minimum term to cover the cost of the rating. For example, it may be that if you leave within 5 years, you must pay the company a certain amount of money for the rating, but if you stay for those 5 years then the rating is fully paid by the company. That is only one example of how it may be financed.
But yes in this case you are correct. You must have X hours practical flying an aircraft over 50t mass of any type, although having hours in an Airbus family aircraft would make the A380 training easier as the overall cockpit mentality is the same.