The Most Promising AI Startups Partnering with Google Cloud in 2025
Attending Google Cloud Next 2025 in Las Vegas gave me a front-row seat to the future of artificial intelligence. From powerhouse startups like Anysphere and Safe Superintelligence to emerging European players like Photoroom, Google is quietly assembling a superstar lineup of AI innovators on its cloud platform.
As someone who tracks the AI space closely, I noticed a recurring theme: Google Cloud is rapidly closing the gap with Microsoft Azure and AWS by deeply integrating next-gen AI infrastructure with some of the most talked-about startups globally. Here's a breakdown of the most interesting names Google Cloud is betting on—and why you should care.
1. Safe Superintelligence: A Quiet Powerhouse from OpenAI’s Co-founder
Safe Superintelligence (SSI), led by Ilya Sutskever—former chief scientist and co-founder of OpenAI—is easily one of the most high-profile names to watch. It’s laser-focused on developing safe AGI and is now tapping Google Cloud’s infrastructure to do it. That alone tells us how serious Google is about attracting foundational AI projects.
2. Anysphere and Cursor: The $10B Challenger to GitHub Copilot
Cursor, the coding assistant built by Anysphere, has taken the developer world by storm. What caught my attention is that it runs on Anthropic’s Claude models via Google Cloud. With Cursor’s $10 billion valuation and its rivalry with GitHub Copilot (read: Microsoft), this partnership is strategic—if not a quiet declaration of war in the AI coding assistant space.
3. Hebbia: Redefining Legal AI with Document Search
Hebbia is turning heads in the legal and enterprise sectors by using AI to search and summarize massive documents. Andreessen Horowitz led its $130 million Series B, joined by Index Ventures, Google Ventures, and even Peter Thiel. According to Google, Hebbia runs on Gemini—Google’s flagship AI model.
4. Magic: Where Code and Research Meet AGI
Magic is pushing boundaries by building frontier AI models designed to automate coding and research simultaneously. Their $320 million funding round last year included CapitalG and Eric Schmidt, making its alignment with Google Cloud almost inevitable. GPUs from Google are now powering this visionary venture.
5. Physical Intelligence: Robotics, Reimagined
What fascinated me most was Physical Intelligence—an AI robotics startup backed by a dream team including Sequoia, Jeff Bezos, and Lachy Groom. Several of its founders hail from Google DeepMind, which explains their return to Google Cloud. They're building the base layer for robotic intelligence, and trust me, it’s as ambitious as it sounds.
6. Photoroom: Europe’s Rising Star in Visual AI
Photoroom is dominating the AI photo editing market out of Paris. It's using Google’s Veo 2 for video generation and Imagen 3 for text-to-image conversion. As a content creator, the possibilities with this tool are seriously exciting.
7. Synthesia: AI Avatars Enter the Mainstream
Synthesia is already known for making lifelike AI avatars. With its latest $180 million round led by NEA—and support from GV (formerly Google Ventures)—they’re leveraging Google Cloud’s full AI model stack to make synthetic media production more scalable and accessible.
Google Cloud’s AI Partner Strategy Is Bold and Strategic
What impressed me the most during Google Cloud Next wasn't just the tech, but the ecosystem strategy. Google isn’t just collecting startup logos—it’s offering real incentives. VC-backed startups from Sequoia, Y Combinator, and now Lightspeed can get $150,000 in Google Cloud credits and exclusive access to their proprietary AI models and chips.
Here Are More Startups That Stood Out
Google also spotlighted several other AI-focused startups across different domains. Here’s a quick rundown:
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Augment Code – AI agent for software development
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Autoscience – AI tools for scientific research
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Big Sur AI – Personalized shopping recommendations
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Captions – AI tools for talking video and editing
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Eon.io – Autonomous backup and recovery
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fal – Image-to-video and text-to-image tools
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Spot AI – AI-enabled security camera analytics
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Story – Blockchain for licensing intellectual property
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StudyHall AI – AI tutors for reading, writing, and test prep
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Ubie – Japanese health symptom checker
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Udio – Music creation with GenAI
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Ufonia – Virtual healthcare agents
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Wagestream – Charity-driven financial wellness platform
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Wondercraft – Hyper-realistic AI-generated audio
Why This Matters for Developers, Founders, and Investors
Google Cloud isn’t just playing catch-up—it’s becoming the first-choice platform for a new generation of AI-first companies. Whether you're a developer looking for cutting-edge AI infrastructure, a founder choosing a cloud partner, or an investor tracking the next AI unicorn, this year's showcase makes one thing clear:
The next big wave of AI innovation is building on Google Cloud. And it's only just beginning.
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