• Start ($2k) tier is designed for startups founded in the past 2 years, with a working MVP, a clear business model, and plans to seek venture funding soon. 
• Our Funded program tiers (Scale, and Scale AI) range from $200K - $350k in credits, and are designed for growing startups with verifiable Pre-Seed to Series A funding.

We are unable to accept companies that have IPO’d or been acquired, educational institutions, government entities, nonprofits, personal blogs or content, dev shops, consultancies or agencies, cryptocurrency mining companies, or a company distributing tokens contrary to regulatory guidance in its jurisdiction. Acceptance to this program may also be determined by company age, company stage, past or present Google Cloud credit usage, as well as total amount and type of funding. Customers must be located in a region where Google Cloud is available in GA, and available through self-service purchasing (for example, without any specialized contracts or terms of sale). Customers are not eligible for credits if they operate a business outside of Google Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) or a business that involves any regulated industry or sector. Credits may only be used by the original applicant and cannot be shared, split, or resold; doing so will result in termination of credits and program enrollment.

To streamline the application process please ensure you have the following: 

• Billing account ID: This is the 18-character Google Cloud billing account ID which can be found in your console here. Upon approval credits will be issued directly to this account so please be sure you select the correct one for your startup in the application process. 
• Business email: Be sure your email address matches your startup public website domain. If these do match, you may be asked to provide additional supporting information. 
• Active business website: Your website should be active and reachable, and describe your company, team/founder, and product(s). We screen for sites that are AI generated, and may reject your application if it contains a high volume of AI generated text, image, or other content. Empty sites or placeholder sites will not be considered, but you can always apply when your site is ready.

We auto-populate your billing account ID based on the Google Cloud account associated with the business email address you provided. Some companies may have multiple billing IDs attached to each account. Upon approval, credits will be deposited into the Google Cloud billing account you have selected in your application, so please double check this is the right account and is attached to the GCP Projects you want to use your credits with.

In order to be approved for credits, your company website domain must match your email domain (for example, if your company is coolstartup.com you must be applying and communicating from a @coolstartup.com email address). Your GCP Account and Billing ID must also be owned and Administrated by a user with a @coolstartup.com domain, to ensure the account receiving credits is the same as the company applying. Please check to ensure you are using the right email address and billing account before you submit your application.

Google Cloud assesses startups based on funding stage, funding type, business model, founder experience, and product usage. We also consider additional information like your company vertical, age, growth trajectory, and so on. Our program eligibility criteria changes over time, and we will email you regarding your application status if additional information is needed. As outlined in our Terms of Service, acceptance to this program is at the sole discretion of Google Cloud.

Please note that non-venture funding like private equity, bank loans government innovation programs, grants, crowdfunding, or friends and family do not qualify for the Scale tier. However, the startup may be evaluated for other program tiers.

In most cases, you will receive an acceptance or rejection email from Google within 5-7 days. Applications with missing information or specialized processing may take 10 days or more. Please check your Spam or Bulk folders, depending on your email settings, as responses are automated and can land in these folders for some users.

The Google Cloud credits you receive as part of the program can be used for most Google Cloud platform products that are owned and built by Google, and used in a pay-as-you-go (PayG) or consumption billed format. Google Cloud platform products billed on a subscription basis are not included in this offer. Please remember that Startup credits cannot be applied to any third-party products purchased through Model Garden or Google Cloud Marketplace.

Other Google products outside of Cloud, like Google Workspace, Google Maps platform, and Google Ads are issued as separate credits or discounts. Details about these other offers will be provided in your Program welcome email.

Ensure that the business email you use in your application matches your startup website domain. If needed, you can create a matching business email account with Google Workspace or use Google Cloud Identity to set up your Google Cloud account.

You create this ID when you sign up as a new Google Cloud account user. If you already have a Google Cloud account, access your console, navigate to 'Billing', then 'Manage your billing account' to view your 18-character ID.

You may still be eligible for credits if you did not use your credits in a previous enrollment, and still meet all in-year program eligibility requirements. Please check your Google Cloud Console where you can review your past and current credits. Program qualifications change annually, and enrollment in a previous year does not guarantee re-enrollment or eligibility for the current year.

If rejected, you will receive a response email from Google outlining the steps you can take next. For some customers, the step will be a quick fix to your account settings or identity records. For others, you will be redirected to other Google Cloud programs like our $300 Free Trial or getting started with AI Studio. Most tiers of the Google for Startups Cloud Program require verifiable Pre-Seed to Series A funding, from a known investor. If you are rejected because your company does not yet meet a funding threshold, we encourage you to re-apply in the future as you continue to raise and grow.

Currently, we support Stealth founders through investor referrals. If your company is funded but operating in Stealth, please ask your Accelerator or VC to help verify your status with Google. To expedite Stealth processing times, please be sure to enter your VCs, investors, or Accelerator affiliations in your application form. For founders who are Stealth and unfunded, please wait to apply for credits until your product launches, as a working website describing your business, team, and product(s) will be required to be considered for this program.