Google Is Giving Startups $100,000 in Cloud Computing Credits For Free

Justin Sullivan / Getty ImagesSome Google employees in an office

Google just announced a new program called Cloud Platform for Startups, where it will give away $100,000 in cloud computing credits to startups that are less than 5 years old and generate less than $500,000 in annual revenue.

The company will be working with over 50 top incubators, accelerators, and investors around the world to help it dole out the free credits, and says it will be adding more partners over time.

With this move, Google is luring new customers away from other cloud competitors, like Amazon Web Services, the current leader in the industry.

By giving startups $100,000 in credits for free, Google is enticing them into its own ecosystem. As the startups grow, they'll likely stay with Google, which translates to increased business. Ideally for Google, it will make back its $100,000 investments by gaining loyal customers.

"Thousands of startups have built successful applications on Google Cloud Platform and those applications have grown to serve tens of millions of users," Google's Julie Pearl, director of developer relations, writes in a log post. "It has been amazing to watch Snapchat send over 700 million photos and videos a day and Khan Academy teach millions of students. We look forward to helping the next generation of startups launch great products."