Last Updated on May 18, 2023
Quick take:
- Google Cloud has emerged as one of the busiest companies in web3 partnerships.
- The Alphabet cloud services unit has collaborated with multiple blockchain companies as part of its web3 strategy.
- It also launched a web3 accelerator and a node hosting service to further its campaign.
Google Cloud is becoming one of the busiest companies in the web3 space. The Alphabet subsidiary on Wednesday added another blockchain company to its growing list of partners after EVM-based Flare integrated its Blockchain API and data portal with the Google Cloud Marketplace.
But that’s not the whole story. In this write-up, we take a closer look at Google Cloud’s recent web3 initiatives despite what some see as a bear market.
Google’s web3 story started gathering steam at the beginning of 2022 when reports emerged that Google Cloud was building a new team dedicated to blockchain initiatives.
In February, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed those reports saying that the Google Cloud team was looking at how new products can be deployed on block-based platforms. In the initial report published by CNBC, the Alphabet Inc. cloud services unit was targeting five key areas, including retail, healthcare, financial services, media and entertainment and manufacturing.
Since then, Google Cloud has collaborated with multiple blockchain companies for different reasons, launched a web3 accelerator program and launched a node operator network, among other initiatives.
Web3 Initiatives Announced in the Past Six Months
Kicking off things in September, the company teamed up with Fortress Blockchain Technologies to build The Fortress Vault, an NFT database storage solution built on Google Cloud.
At the time, Carlos Arena, director of Digital Assets at Google Cloud said the partnership was part of his company’s “greater mission to help enable the Web3 ecosystem with scalable technology and solutions that help establish trust in the community.”
October was one of Google Cloud’s busiest months since reaffirming its position in the web3 race. Earlier in the month, the cloud services provider teamed up with Layer 1 blockchain company NEAR to launch a web3 accelerator program. Google Cloud took the mantle of providing technical support for NEAR grant recipients in the partnership.
Just a week later, the company announced a partnership with one of the leading crypto exchange companies, Coinbase, bringing crypto payments to cloud services. The initial launch only allowed a few customers to pay for cloud services using cryptocurrencies, but plans were underway for a public rollout.
“Over time, Google will allow more customers to make payments with cryptocurrencies,” Amit Zavery, vice president and General Manager and Head of Platform at Google Cloud told CNBC last October.
Later that month, Google Cloud made a major move into the web3 space after launching a blockchain node hosting service for web3 developers. Dubbed Blockchain Node Engine, the first blockchain to be deployed on the service was Ethereum, followed later by Solana, with Polygon the latest to join as announced last month.
The Google Cloud Blockchain Node Engine is a fully managed node-hosting service that can minimise the need for node operators.
In November, Google Cloud teamed up with Aptos Foundation, the organisation behind Layer 1 blockchain Aptos Network, to launch a wen3 accelerator program. The cloud services provider also agreed to power some of Aptos Network’s validator nodes.
So far in 2023
In February 2023, the company joined Tezos blockchain’s validator network, allowing its corporate clients to develop web3 applications on the Tezos blockchain.
Its multi-faceted partnership with Polygon, announced last week, is perhaps the biggest one yet, given Polygon’s ecosystem and the multiple projects that the two companies plan to collaborate on.
Its multi-year deal with Polygon also came as it revealed 11 web3 startups had joined its accelerator program, including Celo, Alchemy, and blockchain analytics firm Nansen, among others.
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