Hey there! If you’re into AI and cloud tech, you’d have loved the buzz at the recent Google Cloud Next conference in Las Vegas. Google rolled out some exciting new tools, like the Ironwood AI processing chip and the cutting-edge AI model, Gemini 2.5 Flash. But what really caught everyone’s attention was the lineup of AI startups making waves by leveraging Google’s cloud platform.
One standout is Safe Superintelligence (SSI), founded by Ilya Sutskever, who you might know as a co-founder of OpenAI. Another name to watch is Anysphere, known for its AI-driven code editor, Cursor. This tool uses Anthropic’s Claude models on Google Cloud and has a hefty valuation of $10 billion. It’s shaping up to be a strong competitor to GitHub CoPilot, putting Microsoft in its sights.
In the legal sector, Hebbia is making a splash with its AI that helps navigate complex documents and provide answers. With backing from heavyweights like Andreessen Horowitz and Peter Thiel, their $130 million Series B funding is supported by Google’s Gemini models.
Then there’s Magic, which is hard at work on frontier AI models for coding and research, all powered by Google Cloud. They secured a whopping $320 million in their 2024 funding round, with support from Alphabet’s CapitalG and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
Physical Intelligence is another game-changer, aiming to revolutionize robotics software. With co-founders from Google DeepMind and significant investment from Sequoia and Jeff Bezos, they raised $400 million last November.
Let’s not forget Photoroom, a Paris-based startup using Google Cloud’s video and text-to-image models for photo editing. Meanwhile, Synthesia is developing AI avatars and recently closed a $180 million funding round led by NEA and GV.
Google Cloud’s strategy is clear: they’re taking on Microsoft Azure and AWS in the AI arena. By expanding their venture partnerships, including adding Lightspeed to a coalition with Sequoia and Y Combinator, they’re opening doors for startups to access Google’s AI tech and offering $150,000 in cloud credits.
Other notable startups include Augment Code for AI coding, Autoscience for research AI, Big Sur AI for ecommerce recommendations, and Captions for video editing. Google’s commitment to innovation and growing its AI ecosystem is evident in these partnerships.
