Google Cloud is expanding its start-up programme in Southeast Asia, using Singapore as the base for a new corridor that links the region's AI founders with Silicon Valley investors, engineers and enterprise customers.
The Google for Startups Accelerator: Southeast Asia is a three-month, equity-free programme for 25 seed to Series B AI start-ups from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Applications are open, with the first cohort due to begin in August 2026.
The programme is launched with Enterprise Singapore, Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, Vietnam's National Innovation Center (NIC) and the Startup and Innovation Hub of Ho Chi Minh City.
"AI start-ups have told us that the jump from product-market fit to international expansion is their hardest leap. By connecting founders and developers with best-in-class resources and global tech hubs through the innovation corridor, we're providing them with a clear runway to commercialise frontier AI at scale," says Ben King, managing director of Google Singapore.
Singapore sits at the centre of the programme. The city-state is home to Google's Asia-Pacific headquarters, Google Cloud's engineering centre and Google DeepMind's AI research lab – all of which will support start-ups through product development sprints and architectural reviews with technical leads, supported by insights from Google's global AI teams.
The accelerator includes an in-person California residency, with founders visiting Google's Mountain View and San Francisco campuses and meeting venture capital networks around Sand Hill Road and Palo Alto.
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Start-ups will also get access to Google Cloud tools, including Tensor Processing Units, Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, Agentic Data Cloud and Google Antigravity, as well as up to US$350,000 ($447,020) in cloud credits under the Google for Startups Cloud Program.
Besides that, they may receive early access to future AI models, including Gemini 3.5 models, and agentic enterprise tools before they are made generally available. The programme will also cover areas such as agentic coding, AI context engineering, large language model operations and multi-agent orchestration.
The launch builds on Google's earlier accelerator programmes in Southeast Asia, which the company says have helped more than 200 start-ups in the region raise US$6.6 billion in funding and create 11,300 jobs since 2018. Alumni include Igloo, Portcast, Speedoc, Unravel Carbon, Betterdata and Pand.ai.
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"Our partnership with Google Cloud has benefitted close to 60 Singapore AI start-ups. We're pleased to deepen this collaboration to enable the next wave of start-ups to gain access to the networks and technical expertise needed to scale and enter new markets. EnterpriseSG will continue to work with like-minded partners and industry players to foster a thriving AI ecosystem in Singapore where startups can innovate and establish themselves as global players," says Wong Zeng Yi, assistant managing director of Enterprise Singapore.
Indonesia and Vietnam are also using the programme to connect national AI priorities with overseas markets.
"Strengthening the AI ecosystem is an important step in accelerating Indonesia's inclusive and sustainable digital transformation. Through Google Cloud's continued support in capacity building, providing access to frontier technology, and ecosystem development, more Indonesian founders are expected to build and scale digital innovations that deliver broader benefits to communities across the country," says Edwin Hidayat Abdullah, director general of digital ecosystem at Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs.
"The 'AI for the Future' initiative by NIC and Google has supported more than 500 Vietnamese start-ups. By facilitating collaboration in advanced fields like agentic AI and embodied AI, we're helping to transform research breakthroughs into the next wave of enterprise and industrial solutions, boosting Vietnam's national competitiveness and driving market productivity gains," says Vu Quoc Huy, director, Vietnam National Innovation Center.
Dang Thi Luan, director of the Startup and Innovation Hub of Ho Chi Minh City, adds: "Our collaboration with Google Cloud creates a two-way corridor: a conduit for high-potential Vietnamese AI start-ups to scale internationally, and a trusted gateway for their regional peers to enter our vibrant market. Through Google for Startups Accelerator: Southeast Asia, we're empowering Vietnam's entrepreneurial tech talent to architect sophisticated agentic AI solutions for sectors like fintech and smart logistics while facilitating the high-caliber exchanges they need to grow and compete sustainably on the world stage."
