Google for Startups Cloud Program (AI tier) vs Nebius for Startups (2026): Which Is Better for Startups?

Both are AI credits for startups. Here is how Google for Startups Cloud Program (AI tier) and Nebius for Startups compare on what a startup gets, who qualifies and how to apply, and which one we would pick.

Google for Startups Cloud Program (AI tier)

Up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits over two years for VC-funded startups building on Gemini.

8.5 /10

Pricing: Up to $350k in credits & perks

Pros

Very large credit amount
Covers Gemini and Gemma plus the wider Google Cloud
No partner code needed

Cons

Requires institutional equity funding
Third-party models not covered by credits

Visit Google for Startups Cloud Program (AI tier) ↗

Nebius for Startups

$5,000 in introductory GPU credits and up to $150,000 in compute savings for startups with $5M+ VC backing.

5.5 /10

Pricing: Up to $150k in credits & perks

Pros

GPU credits usable immediately
Large ongoing discount as you scale

Cons

Needs $5M+ from a partner VC
Waitlist and no guaranteed response time

Visit Nebius for Startups ↗

Google for Startups Cloud Program (AI tier) vs Nebius for Startups at a glance

	Google for Startups Cloud Program (AI tier)	Nebius for Startups
Editor score	8.5 / 10	5.5 / 10
Pricing model	Free	Free
What you get	Up to $350k in credits & perks	Up to $150k in credits & perks
Who qualifies	VC-funded startups using Gemini/Google AI at the core of their product; qualifying venture funding from seed to Series A; founded within the last 10 years; no more than $5,000 in prior Google Cloud credits. Eligibility decided at Google Cloud's discretion.	AI startups with $5M+ raised from an approved Nebius VC partner, a working website, a company email and a recent incorporation; consultancies, resellers, cloud providers, crypto-only and public companies excluded.
Partner code needed	No	Yes
Steps it helps with	claim startup credits, choose your ai coding stack, build your mvp, host and deploy	claim startup credits, build your mvp, host and deploy
Who it is for	AI startups, VC-backed only, Pre-seed, Seed stage, Series A+	AI startups, VC-backed only, Series A+
Reader upvotes	0	0
Best for	google-cloud, gemini, vertex-ai	gpu-cloud, training, inference

Our pick

Google for Startups Cloud Program (AI tier) edges it with a score of 8.5 versus 5.5. Google for Startups Cloud Program (AI tier) is the better fit if you value: very large credit amount, covers gemini and gemma plus the wider google cloud. Choose Nebius for Startups instead if you need: gpu credits usable immediately, large ongoing discount as you scale. Many startups can claim both: see credits by value.