Google Cloud announced that it will be introducing new benefits for Web3 startups to apply for its Startups Cloud Program. The program will offer grants from foundation partners, which include Aptos, Celo, Solana Foundation, HBAR Foundation, and Near, in addition to credits worth $10,000 in Alchemy and access to Alchemy University.
The Web3 Startups Program offers private Discord channels with Google Cloud’s Web3 product and engineering teams, Web3 training courses, and grants from foundation partners such as Aptos, Celo, Flow, HBAR Foundation, Near, and Solana Foundation. Additionally, Web3 builders who join the program will be given access to tools, up to $200,000 in Google Cloud credits over two years, and early access to Google Cloud’s new Web3 products before they become available to the public.
The program has two tiers: the Start Tier for pre-seed companies less than five years old and the Scale Tier for those less than ten years old with verified funding up through Series A. Google Cloud services, including Web3 features and offerings from partners, will be offered at a discounted price for those who are accepted into the program.
Furthermore, startups will have access to the Polygon Ventures Ecosystem Fund, which offers around $3 million in investments. The Startups Cloud Program is available in two tiers. The starting tier is geared towards pre-seed projects and startups that have been in operation for less than five years.
Google Cloud steadily marching alongside Web3
In Sept 2022, head of strategy for Cloud and Web3 at Google Richard Widmann told publication Decrypt that he believed in a decentralized future and that Google Cloud could be layer zero.
In October, Google launched an in-house Blockchain Node Engine based on the Cloud. Blockchain Node Engine (BNE) on Google Cloud. BNE, which is a node-hosting service, will enable Web3 companies to transmit transactions, deploy smart contracts, and directly read or write blockchain data on Google Cloud. Ethereum will be the first blockchain that BNE supports.
The purpose of the service is to position nodes behind a firewall for a virtual private cloud, restricting communication with endpoints to trusted users and machines.
Furthermore, Google Cloud and other services will be used to protect the nodes against distributed denial-of-service attacks. As a fully managed solution, BNE will have its own team of developers on standby to monitor for potential outages.
NEAR Foundation also revealed their use of Google Cloud services in November 2022, helping over 800 applications building a Near Protocol to scale up.
Last year, Flare Network announced a protocol operating on Google Cloud. Originally, Flare was a research organization that delved into the future of blockchain technology. This led to the creation of their own platform and the launch of Flare Network, a blockchain that provides developers with a streamlined and consistent framework for decentralized interoperability.
With Flare, decentralized applications can securely access data from external sources beyond the Flare network, such as blockchain state and pricing data, creating a highly secure and interoperable multi- and cross-chain solution.
In Feb 2023, The Tezos Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes the growth of the Tezos blockchain, has partnered with Google Cloud to offer developers the ability to deploy blockchain nodes and create Web3 applications.
As part of the collaboration, Google Cloud will act as a validator on the Tezos blockchain, granting its customers access to Tezos’s “corporate baking” program, which offers on-chain validators.
