Google is putting together a team to build backend services for blockchain developers. The company is hoping to make Google Cloud Platform the primary destination for those who want to run Web3 apps.
“We’re not trying to be part of that cryptocurrency wave directly,” Google Cloud vice president Amit Zavery told CNBC. “We’re providing technologies for companies to use and take advantage of the distributed nature of Web3 in their current businesses and enterprises.”
Zavery told staff in an email (which was viewed by CNBC) that the Web3 market is "already demonstrating tremendous potential with many customers asking us to increase our support for Web3 and crypto related technologies."
This isn't quite Google's first foray into this space. In January, it announced a Digital Assets Team and said it would look into ways of allowing Google Cloud customers to make and receive crypto payments. On an earnings call the following month, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the Cloud unit was exploring support for blockchain projects.
The new team will comprise employees who have been involved in Web3 projects either at Google or on their own time, according to Zavery. He said Google may create a system that will enable other companies to make it easy for people to look into blockchain data. Google's tools will be compatible with other platforms like Amazon Web Services, Zavery said.
There's an element of incongruity here. A core aim of the Web3 movement is making the web decentralized and shifting power away from major companies like Google, Amazon and Meta. Still, Web3 developers need to host their apps and services somewhere, and Google wants to be their first choice.