Google Cloud is quietly stacking wins in the AI startup game — and its latest move proves it’s not slowing down anytime soon. On Thursday, the company announced that two of the buzziest AI coding startups, Lovable and Windsurf, have officially signed on as customers. Translation? Both are now betting their futures on Google’s cloud infrastructure instead of running to bigger rivals like AWS or Microsoft Azure.
Now, let’s be honest — when most people think “Google,” they’re not thinking about servers or GPU clusters. They’re thinking YouTube, Gmail, or ads chasing them around the internet. But here’s the twist: Google Cloud is becoming one of Google’s fastest-growing money makers. On its last earnings call, the company revealed its cloud arm is running at a $50 billion annual rate, with another $58 billion lined up over the next two years. For context, Google Cloud pulled in $43.2B in 2024 — not pocket change.
And the secret sauce? AI startups. Google Cloud says it now works with 9 out of the top 10 AI labs worldwide and with 60% of generative AI startups. That’s not just impressive — that’s dominance in progress. In fact, the division claims a 20% year-over-year increase in new AI startups signing up.
Lovable and Windsurf (the latter now part of Cognition, the team behind AI agent Devin) may not spend like giants yet, but Google’s gamble is long-term: nurture these startups today, reap big contracts tomorrow. Both already rely on Gemini 2.5 Pro models, powered and hosted by Google Cloud.
Of course, all this AI magic isn’t cheap. Training and running models costs millions, which is why the $400B global cloud market keeps ballooning. To keep startups hooked, Google is dangling juicy perks — from $350,000 in cloud credits through its startup program to dedicated Nvidia GPU clusters for accelerator-backed founders.
And with its first-ever Google AI Builder’s Forum just wrapped — showcasing 40+ AI startups building on Google Cloud — it’s clear Google is betting big on being the home base for the next wave of AI unicorns.
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