Google Canada has opened applications for the first cohort of its new accelerator program for cloud-native Canadian tech startups.
The program consists of an “intensive” virtual bootcamp that aims to equip participating companies for their next phase of growth. Applications for the program’s inaugural cohort close on May 28, and the program is set to begin in July. Google Cloud Accelerator Canada is seeking eight to 12 startups to join.
Applications for the program’s inaugural cohort are currently open, and set to close on May 28.
The Cloud Accelerator is the latest in a series of new accelerator programs Google has opened in Canada during the past year and a half. Google launched its first Canadian accelerator in Kitchener-Waterloo in February 2020, when it also announced plans to open three new Canadian offices and hire 3,500 people across the country by 2022.
Since then, the US tech giant has launched three new accelerator programs for Canadian startups over the past year and a half, including Cloud, Voice AI, and Climate Change. Later this year, Google plans to launch its Black Founders accelerator and its accelerator for women founders.
According to Google, the company’s new cloud accelerator is best suited for funded, revenue-generating startups with at least five employees that either currently leverage cloud, AI, or machine learning tech in their products, services, or operations, or possess an interest in doing so in the future.
The completely virtual, equity-free support program is set to involve digital workshops and guidance, pairing selected founders with Google’s cloud experts in order to help them solve their biggest challenges. According to Google, participating startups will receive “deep mentorship on technical topics and machine learning,” in addition to connections to relevant teams from across Google.
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“The past year has shown us the critical role cloud technologies play, for businesses, governments, nonprofits and consumers,” said Ashley Francisco, head of Google Canada’s startup developer ecosystem. “Throughout the pandemic, cloud technologies helped organizations across the globe navigate uncertainty.”
Francisco highlighted health systems that have shifted their models for care, governments that have ramped up their digitization efforts in order to provide online services and support amid shutdowns, and companies that have adjusted to support remote workforces as examples of this.
According to Francisco, the new accelerator is designed to “bring the best of Google’s programs, products, people and technology to startups doing interesting work in the cloud.” In addition to cloud and technical project support, the program will also involve workshops on product design, customer acquisition, and leadership development.
Photo by Paweł Czerwiński via Unsplash
