[riffraff]

that is true of most of these programs.

I guess it's to avoid having to vet each request individually.

Accepting them without any check means I'd create a new "startup" for each random page I put on the internet just to get free stuff, but having to verify each request may become a pain point quickly. Being part of an accelerator means that the work has been done by someone else.

[rgbrenner]

That's true.. but Amazon and BizSpark do not have the accelerator requirement* . Considering that those are Google Cloud's direct competitors, it's a fair question why they have that requirement when their competitors don't.

* (both programs give addtl resources if you're in an accelerator though - amazon portfolio package and bizspark plus respectively)