Google Cloud Makes Replit Its Primary Partner for AI Vibe-Coding
Google Cloud announced a multi-year partnership with Replit on December 4, making Google the startup’s primary cloud provider. This deal expands Replit’s use of Google services and adds more Google AI models to the platform, targeting enterprise AI coding needs. CNBC called it a move to challenge rivals like Anthropic and Cursor in the growing “vibe-coding” space, where AI turns natural language prompts into working code.
What the Partnership Covers
Replit, around 10 years old and focused on easy coding tools, will stick with Google Cloud as its main infrastructure backbone. Key parts include:
- Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) and Cloud Run for running apps.
- BigQuery for data analytics.
- New support for Google models like Gemini 3, Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite, 2.5 Flash, and Imagen 4.
WinBuzzer explains this setup powers coding and image generation right in Replit, helping users build full apps without deep programming skills. Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said it will “deliver more capabilities to Replit’s users through deeper integrations.”
Why They Teamed Up
The timing follows Replit’s July integration with Microsoft’s Azure Marketplace, which raised questions about shifting workloads. This Google deal locks in “primary” status for core operations, keeping heavy compute on Google’s side while Azure handles some sales distribution, per WinBuzzer.
Replit’s growth made it attractive. It raised $250 million in September, pushing its valuation to $3 billion. Annualized revenue jumped from $2.8 million to $150 million in under a year. Data from Ramp shows Replit with the fastest new customer growth among software vendors, while Google Cloud leads in new customers and spending on the platform. TipRanks, MarketScreener and CNBC both highlight these numbers as reasons Google wants in on Replit’s enterprise push.
How It Works in Practice
Users get “vibe-coding”: describe what you want in plain English, and AI generates code, debugs, or even designs interfaces. Replit’s new Design Mode uses Imagen 4 for visuals, while Gemini 3 handles complex tasks like refactoring across files—it scored 76.2% on SWE-bench Verified, WinBuzzer reports.
For enterprises, this means marketing or HR teams can build tools like dashboards without engineers, targeting non-developers as Asianet Newsable reports. Lighter tasks use cheaper models like Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite to keep costs down. Everything scales on Google’s cloud stack, making it hard to switch providers.
Why This Matters Now
Vibe-coding is exploding. Anthropic’s Claude Code hit $1 billion run-rate revenue; Cursor reached $1 billion annualized revenue and a $29.3 billion valuation. Replit targets non-dev “business technologists,” helping Google expand beyond traditional coders and boost cloud usage.
Google’s fresh Gemini 3 model scores high on benchmarks, and Alphabet shares rose over 12% since its launch, notes CNBC and MarketScreener. Tech Startups frames it as Google pressuring rivals in the AI coding race. For developers and companies, it means more reliable, scalable AI tools backed by serious infrastructure.
