Cronos (CRO) Labs, a blockchain startup accelerator focused on advancing the Cronos blockchain ecosystem, has announced an expansion of its strategic partnership with Google Cloud. This partnership aims to leverage Google Cloud’s technological capabilities to enhance Cronos’ growth and innovation, according to Cronos.

Strategic Areas of Focus

The collaboration will see Google Cloud serve as a primary cloud provider for Cronos and its ecosystem, focusing on four key areas:

• Onboarding Google Cloud as a Cronos validator;
• Driving technological innovation to enhance Cronos’ performance;
• Expanding developer adoption at the intersection of AI and blockchain;
• Providing value creation packages for startups in the Cronos Accelerator Program.

Enhanced Network Security and Developer Appeal

Ken Timsit, Managing Director of Cronos Labs, emphasized that the partnership with Google Cloud offers substantial benefits to end users and developers by improving network security and reliability. Additionally, it enhances the appeal of the Cronos Accelerator Program to startups by leveraging Google Cloud’s data processing, computing, and AI capabilities to develop innovative decentralized applications.

Google Cloud’s Role in Web3 Commitment

Rishi Ramchandani, Web3 APAC Lead at Google Cloud, stated that Google Cloud’s participation as a validator in the Cronos ecosystem reinforces its commitment to Web3. Google Cloud will support developers in building next-generation decentralized applications using its secure infrastructure, advanced AI features, and robust data analytics tools.

Google Cloud as a Validator

Google Cloud joins the 32-validator pool of the open-source Cronos EVM protocol, contributing to the network’s stability and security. Validators are crucial for decentralizing transaction verification by creating or confirming new blocks every few seconds.

Technological Innovations with Google Cloud

Cronos Labs is utilizing Google Cloud to support the infrastructure for Cronos zkEVM, a layer 2 blockchain network powered by ZK chain technology. This network aims to expand Cronos into Ethereum’s vibrant layer 2 galaxy, leveraging the strengths of the existing Cronos EVM and Cronos POS networks.

The high-performance Cronos zkEVM infrastructure takes advantage of Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) Autopilot and Gateway for scalable network management, AlliamDB for managed PostgreSQL-compatible databases supporting zkSync technology, and NVIDIA L4 GPUs for generating zero-knowledge proofs through Google Compute Engine.

Developer Adoption at AI and Blockchain Intersection

The partnership will promote developer adoption by highlighting innovation opportunities at the intersection of blockchain and AI. Cronos has released full blockchain datasets for the Cronos EVM and Cronos zkEVM chains on Google Cloud Platform, facilitating SQL-based analysis through BigQuery.

These datasets open doors to innovative use cases, such as enabling end-users to query blockchain data in natural language, allowing AI agents to use blockchain for transactions, and identifying trends and patterns in public blockchain data for discovering trading opportunities.

The companies will also co-host virtual hackathons to provide developers with hands-on experience in cutting-edge AI and blockchain technologies and networking opportunities with industry experts.

Value Creation for Cronos Accelerator Startups

Cronos Labs will continue its collaboration with the Google Cloud Program for Startups to enhance its accelerator program. This collaboration will provide startups with resources to develop innovative AI-powered Web3 applications within the Cronos ecosystem.

Startups in the Cronos Accelerator will benefit from Google Cloud’s exclusive packages, educational resources on building and scaling applications with AI, and additional benefits across Google products and the Web3 partner ecosystem.

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