Founders Funds

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The Google for Startups Founders Funds provide cash awards — without giving up equity in return — and hands-on support to help underrepresented founders build and grow their businesses.

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About the Funds

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About the Funds

Established in 2020, the Google for Startups Founders Funds have provided more than $50 million to support underrepresented founders. The goals of our funds are to help promising founders grow their businesses and ultimately, to create generational wealth. We’ve supported 600+ founders who have gone on to raise $500M+ in follow-on venture capital.

In addition to equity-free cash awards, Founders Funds recipients receive ongoing Google mentorship, Google Cloud credits, and product support to help them navigate every stage of their startup journey.

Key benefits

  • Access to capital.

    Equity-free cash awards to help you build and grow your business.

  • Custom Mentorship

    Receive tailored product and leadership support from Google mentors and industry experts.

  • Leadership training

    Become a more effective leader through research-based strategies and expert coaching.

  • Founder network

    Connect and learn from fellow founders and access a peer-to-peer support network.

  • Google Cloud credits and support

    Receive Google Cloud credits and dedicated support via the Google for Startups Cloud Program.

Startup Criteria

Startup Criteria

  • Diverse companies with at least one underrepresented founder on their founding team
  • Between Pre-seed and Series A
  • Scalable product or service with a significant total addressable market and defensible growth model
  • Ready to go global

Our Founders Funds

In my six years as a founder, I've never felt more validated than with the Google for Startups’ Black Founders Fund. The support and backing I've received has been incredible. As a result, we were able to hire three local interns from underprivileged backgrounds.
Dami Hastrup
Founder