Google for Startups Cloud Program: up to $350K (2026)

I quick answer

Google Cloud offers up to $350,000 in credits.

No equity, no fees. No referral needed; apply directly.

Stage fit: Pre-seed to Series A. Difficulty: moderate.

II key facts

Google Cloud at a glance

Max value: Up to $350,000
Stage fit: Pre-seed to Series A
Takes equity: No
Who files it: You (no code needed)
Geography: Global, at Google's sole discretion, including based on the country of the company's primary place of business.
Referral needed: No
Difficulty: Moderate
Review time: A few business days in most cases
Credits expire: Start tier credits are valid for one year.

III available programs and tiers

What Google Cloud actually gives you

Start tier
Up to $2,000 in Google Cloud credits valid for one year (credits cover Google's proprietary models); free-tier AI Studio access; $200 Google Skills training credits; Google Workspace Business Plus free for 12 months (new signups only); partner perks
Pre-funding technology startups with a working MVP and a clear business model that plan to seek venture funding soon; founded within the last 24 months; must show a well-defined product roadmap and a clear vision for market disruption; no Google Cloud credits received beyond the $300 free trial
Scale tier
Up to $200,000 over 2 years: Year 1 covers 100% of spend up to $100,000; Year 2 covers 20% of spend up to an additional $100,000. Plus up to $12,000 in Enhanced Support credits for one year (1-hour response on critical issues), $500 Google Skills credits, Workspace Business Plus free for 12 months, $600/month Google Maps Platform credits for one year (separate application), a dedicated Startup Success Manager and Startup Customer Engineers, and, per a Google perk sheet dated May 2025, $10,000 of credits for partner models in Model Garden (Anthropic, Mistral, AI21). The partner-model credit is not listed on the main program pages.
VC-funded startups that raised a Pre-Seed/Seed round from institutional investors or VC firms within the last 5 years, or a Series A within the last 12 months (SAFEs count); founded within the last 5 years; not more than $5,000 in prior Google Cloud credits; stealth OK if the investor verifies funding
Scale tier for AI startups (AI-first)
Up to $350,000 over 2 years: Year 1 covers 100% of spend up to $250,000 (the standard $100,000 plus an extra $150,000); Year 2 covers 20% of spend up to an additional $100,000. All Scale-tier perks apply, including the $12,000 Enhanced Support credits. Credits cover Gemini and Gemma; other third-party models are billed directly by their providers.
Startups that meet every Scale-tier requirement AND use or plan to use Gemini as the foundation of their primary product (AI built into the company's core, not a bolt-on productivity layer); reviewed case by case at Google's discretion
Ecosystem tier (accelerator/incubator route)
Google Cloud credits starting at $25,000 and up to $250,000 based on funding and spend milestones (Google's two-pager gives no duration); $500 Google Skills (formerly Skills Boost) credits; technical office hours and workshops; Workspace Business Plus for 1 year (new signups only); Startup Success Managers; Enhanced Support for 1 year once upgraded to Scale tier
Startups actively participating in, or within 1 year of joining or graduating from, select Google-partnered accelerator or incubator programs (described by Google as a private offer, not listed on the main benefits page); founded within the last 5 years; no Google Cloud credits beyond the free trial or the Start tier
Web3 track
Start: up to $2,000 for one year. Scale: up to $200,000 over 2 years for Google Cloud and Firebase usage (Year 1 100% up to $100,000; Year 2 20% up to $100,000) plus $12,000 Enhanced Support credits for one year and Web3 Perks (Quicknode, TRM, Allium discounts)
Web3 projects and startups; for the Scale level, verifiable token raises, NFT token fundraising, or a blockchain foundation grant count as funding, and the Web3 page also accepts accredited angels, accelerators, incubators, SAFEs and convertible notes; founded within 5 years; not more than $4,000 in prior Google Cloud credits
Series B+
Customized cloud solutions and support (contact sales): partner services funds, flex and enterprise agreements, dedicated customer engineers, cloud credits based on monthly spend, migration estimates and learning credits; no published credit amount
Startups that have raised Series B or later

IV eligibility

Who qualifies

You likely qualify if

Company is a technology startup (software/digital-native), not a services firm
You have an 18-character Google Cloud billing account ID in good standing, and the billing account owner's email domain matches your company domain
You apply with a business email whose domain matches your public company website domain (personal email addresses are not accepted)
Google accepts or rejects applications at its sole discretion, including based on the country of your company's primary place of business; Google restricts Cloud access in China, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria
Start tier: you have a working MVP and a clear business model, plan to seek venture funding soon, were founded within the last 24 months, have received no Google Cloud credits beyond the $300 free trial, and can show a well-defined product roadmap and a clear vision for market disruption
Scale tier: you raised a Pre-Seed or Seed round from institutional investors or VC firms within the last 5 years, or a Series A within the last 12 months (SAFE agreements count)
Scale tier: your company was founded within the last 5 years
Scale tier: you have received no more than $5,000 in Google Cloud credits before applying
Scale tier: you can show publicly available online sources documenting the equity investment, or (if in stealth) your investor verifies the funding to Google
AI-first (up to $350,000): you meet all Scale requirements and Gemini is, or will be, the foundation of your primary product, with AI built into the company's core structure rather than a bolt-on layer
Ecosystem tier: you are actively in, or within 1 year of joining or graduating from, a Google-partnered accelerator or incubator, were founded within the last 5 years, and have no Google Cloud credits beyond the free trial or Start tier
Workspace perk: your domain has not had a paid Google Workspace plan from 31 days before applying until the day you request the benefit, and the perk cannot be applied to annual Business Plus plans

You won't qualify if

Companies that have IPO'd or been acquired
Educational institutions, government entities, and nonprofits
Personal blogs or content sites
Dev shops, consultancies, and agencies
Cryptocurrency mining companies, and companies distributing tokens contrary to regulatory guidance in their jurisdiction
For Scale tier: companies funded only by private equity, government innovation grants, prize money, crowdfunding, angels, or friends and family (these may still be evaluated for the Start tier; the Web3 page treats accredited angels as qualifying)
For Scale tier: companies founded more than 5 years ago, or that already received more than $5,000 in Google Cloud credits
For Start tier: companies founded more than 24 months ago, or that already received any Google Cloud credits beyond the free trial
Companies whose primary place of business is in a country where Google restricts service, such as China, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, or Syria
Applications using a personal email address, or where the website domain, application email domain, and billing account domain do not match
Companies that already redeemed a Google Cloud promotional code (only one promotional code per company unless Google approves otherwise); Google may also withhold credits from companies in other Google Cloud promotional programs

Geography. Global, at Google's sole discretion, including based on the country of the company's primary place of business. Google restricts Cloud access in China, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria. Disputes are governed by California law (Singapore law with SIAC arbitration for APAC billing addresses; California law with AAA/ICDR arbitration for LATAM billing addresses).

V how to apply

How to apply to Google for Startups Cloud Program

01Create a Google Cloud account and a Cloud Billing account under your company domain. Choose the billing country and currency carefully (they cannot be changed later; you would need a new billing account) and copy the 18-character billing account ID from Billing > Manage your billing account.
02Set up a business email on your company's website domain (Google Workspace or Cloud Identity). The application email, website domain, and billing-account owner domain must all match.
03For the Scale or AI-first tier, collect links to public online sources showing your equity rounds (press, investor announcements). Google's FAQ asks for links to publicly available sources. If you are in stealth, arrange for your investor to confirm funding to Google.
04Sign in with your Google account and submit the form at cloud.google.com/startup/apply (the URL redirects to Google sign-in). Use the AI program form (apply?pt=AI#application-form) for the $350,000 tier and the Web3 form (apply?pt=Web3#application-form) for the Web3 track; select your accelerator in the form if applying through the Ecosystem tier. Enter the billing account ID the credits should land on; Google will auto-populate it from your email.
05Wait for the decision email. Google says most applications are answered within a few business days; applications needing manual review take 10 days or more. If rejected or if you have stealth-mode questions, email cloudstartupsupport@google.com or your Google account manager.
06After approval, credits appear on your billing account. Scale and AI members see credits labelled 'GFS Cloud Program - Scale' or 'GFS Cloud Program - AI'. Follow the welcome email to claim Workspace, Maps Platform (separate application), and Enhanced Support perks. Scale and AI members who joined before May 2025 must ask their Google Cloud account executive to unlock the $10,000 partner-model credits.

Review time: A few business days in most cases; 10 days or more if the application needs manual review (Google's FAQ). Decision arrives by email.. Apply at cloud.google.com/startup/apply.

VI what changed

What changed in 2025 and 2026

April 22, 2026: Google renamed Vertex AI to Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform (Model Garden keeps its name). May 2025: all startups in the Scale and Scale AI tiers receive $10,000 of credits usable on partner models in Model Garden (Anthropic Claude, Mistral, AI21), per a Google perk sheet; members who joined before May 2025 must ask their Google Cloud account executive to unlock them. The core tier structure ($2K / $200K / $350K AI-first) has been in place since the AI benefits launched on April 26, 2023 (announced March 14, 2023). The program Terms of Service were last modified November 16, 2023. Training credits are now branded Google Skills on the program pages (formerly Skills Boost). As of 2026-10-09 the main benefits page shows a $5,000 Scale-tier prior-credit cap while the Web3 page still shows $4,000.

Dated change log for every program →

VII stacks well with

Hold these alongside Google Cloud

VIII the AWS angle

Google Cloud credits and your AWS bill

This is a competing cloud: credits spend only on Google Cloud services (Gemini, BigQuery, Firebase, GKE), never on AWS or Amazon Bedrock, and not on third-party offerings including Google Cloud Marketplace. Google's eligibility rules count only prior Google Cloud credits, not AWS Activate credits, so founders commonly hold both and split workloads: for example, running Claude on Bedrock with Activate credits while using the separate $10,000 partner-model perk for Claude in Model Garden on Google's Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform (formerly Vertex AI).

IXfaq

Google Cloud startup credits, answered

How much does Google Cloud give startups?

Google Cloud offers up to $350,000 in credits. There are 6 tiers: Start tier: Up to $2,000 in Google Cloud credits valid for one year (credits cover Google's proprietary models); Scale tier: Up to $200,000 over 2 years: Year 1 covers 100% of spend up to $100,000; Scale tier for AI startups (AI-first): Up to $350,000 over 2 years: Year 1 covers 100% of spend up to $250,000 (the standard $100,000 plus an extra $150,000); Ecosystem tier (accelerator/incubator route): Google Cloud credits starting at $25,000 and up to $250,000 based on funding and spend milestones (Google's two-pager gives no duration); Web3 track: Start: up to $2,000 for one year; Series B+: Customized cloud solutions and support (contact sales): partner services funds, flex and enterprise agreements, dedicated customer engineers, cloud credits based on monthly spend, migration estimates and learning credits.

Does Google Cloud take equity?

No. Google for Startups Cloud Program is a credits program, not an investment; you keep 100% of your company. No referral needed; apply directly.

Who qualifies for Google for Startups Cloud Program?

Stage fit: Pre-seed to Series A (Start tier for pre-funding startups with an MVP; Series B+ gets custom support with no published credit amount). You usually qualify if: company is a technology startup (software/digital-native), not a services firm; you have an 18-character Google Cloud billing account ID in good standing, and the billing account owner's email domain matches your company domain; you apply with a business email whose domain matches your public company website domain (personal email addresses are not accepted). You will not qualify if: companies that have IPO'd or been acquired; educational institutions, government entities, and nonprofits.

How long does Google Cloud take to approve credits?

A few business days in most cases; 10 days or more if the application needs manual review (Google's FAQ). Decision arrives by email. Difficulty: moderate, a real application and usually some back and forth.

When do Google Cloud credits expire?

Start tier credits are valid for one year. Scale and AI-first credits are structured over two years (Year 1 allocation covers 100% of spend up to the cap; Year 2 covers 20% of spend up to $100,000).

Can I combine Google Cloud credits with AWS credits?

This is a competing cloud: credits spend only on Google Cloud services (Gemini, BigQuery, Firebase, GKE), never on AWS or Amazon Bedrock, and not on third-party offerings including Google Cloud Marketplace. Google's eligibility rules count only prior Google Cloud credits, not AWS Activate credits, so founders commonly hold both and split workloads: for example, running Claude on Bedrock with Activate credits while using the separate $10,000 partner-model perk for Claude in Model Garden on Google's Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform (formerly Vertex AI). On AWS, CloudRoute matches you for free with a vetted partner who can file MAP, POC or IW funding when the workload qualifies and AWS approves it. The Google Cloud application you submit yourself.

X related programs

More cloud credits

Browse the full directory → Which ones do I qualify for? →