Google Cloud is strengthening its position in the global cloud market as more artificial intelligence (AI) startups choose it as their primary computing provider. On Thursday, the company announced that fast-rising AI coding ventures Lovable and Windsurf have joined its growing customer base, underscoring its increasing influence in the competitive cloud industry.

The deals mark another step in Google Cloud’s bid to catch up with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, while also making the division a more central pillar of Google’s long-term business strategy. Although still overshadowed by the company’s advertising dominance, Google Cloud has become one of its fastest-expanding business units.

During its recent earnings call, Google reported that its cloud division reached an annual run rate of $50 billion, with expectations to generate $58 billion in new revenue over the next two years. The unit earned $43.2 billion in 2024, a sharp rise from $33.1 billion in 2023.

Much of this growth has been fueled by partnerships with AI-driven companies. Google Cloud currently works with nine of the world’s top ten AI labs—including OpenAI and Safe Superintelligence—alongside 60% of global generative AI startups. In the past year alone, the company recorded a 20% surge in new AI startups choosing its services.

While startups like Lovable and Windsurf spend far less than major AI labs, Google views them as promising long-term bets. Both companies run their operations on Google Cloud infrastructure and leverage Gemini 2.5 Pro to power their products. Windsurf, which was recently acquired by Cognition, also integrates Google’s Gemini models into Cognition’s AI agent, Devin.

The cloud-heavy requirements of training and deploying AI models present a challenge for developers, but they also represent a significant opportunity for cloud providers. According to Synergy Research, the global cloud market is projected to surpass $400 billion in 2025 and expand by 20% annually over the next five years.

To further strengthen its ecosystem, Google hosted its first AI Builder’s Forum on Thursday, gathering hundreds of AI startup founders. At the event, the company highlighted over 40 new AI startups building on Google Cloud, including Sequoia-backed Factory AI and Andreessen Horowitz-backed Krea AI.

Google’s aggressive startup-friendly incentives also play a major role in attracting new customers. Through its Google for Startups Cloud Program, the company offers $350,000 in cloud credits, alongside access to Nvidia GPU clusters tailored for Y Combinator-backed startups.

As AI innovation accelerates, these strategic partnerships suggest that Google Cloud’s bet on early-stage companies could prove to be one of its most valuable growth drivers in the years ahead.

Source: Techcrunch