At this year’s Google Cloud Next in Las Vegas, Google spotlighted a wave of AI-driven startups that are reshaping industries from software engineering to healthcare. The company also rolled out major product announcements—most notably its Gemini 2.5 Flash AI model and a new chip, Ironwood—alongside new VC partnerships and expanded support for emerging ventures.
Here are the most notable startups featured at the event:
1. Safe Superintelligence (SSI)
Founded by OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, SSI has emerged as one of the most-watched AI startups globally. Though details remain under wraps, it underscores the push toward high-assurance AGI systems.
2. Anysphere (Cursor)
Makers of the popular Cursor code editor, which competes directly with GitHub Copilot. Built on Claude models from Anthropic, Cursor is already valued at $10 billion, according to sources.
3. Hebbia
Focused on document search and question answering for industries like legal and finance. The startup recently closed a $130 million Series B, backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Google Ventures, among others.
4. Magic
Developing frontier models for code automation and research. It raised $320 million in 2024, with backing from CapitalG and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. It relies on Google Cloud’s GPU infrastructure.
5. Physical Intelligence
A deep-tech robotics software company co-founded by ex-Google DeepMind researchers. With $400 million raised, investors include Jeff Bezos, Sequoia, and Lux Capital.
6. Photoroom
A Paris-based AI photo editing startup using Google’s Imagen 3 and Veo 2 video model. It’s among Europe’s hottest GenAI companies.
7. Synthesia
Known for creating realistic AI avatars, the company raised $180 million at a $2.1 billion valuation earlier this year. It also uses multiple Google models.
Other Promising Startups Featured
- Augment Code – AI coding agent
- Autoscience – AI for scientific discovery
- Big Sur AI – AI for personalized e-commerce
- Captions – AI video editor
- Eon.io – Autonomous enterprise data backup
- Fal.ai – Text-to-image and image-to-video models
- Spot AI – AI for security cameras
- Story Foundation – Blockchain-based IP licensing
- StudyHall AI – AI education coaching
- Ubie – Health symptom analyzer (Japan)
- Udio – AI music creation
- Ufonia – AI for patient consultations
- Wagestream – Financial wellness platform
- Wondercraft – AI-generated realistic audio content
Strategic VC Partnerships and Incentives
Google Cloud also expanded its VC partner network, adding Lightspeed to an existing list that includes Sequoia and Y Combinator. Portfolio companies from these firms will gain access to $150,000 in cloud credits, Google confirmed.
