Red Hat is offering a six-month trial of its Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for firms participating in Google’s Startups Cloud Program, providing those participants with a platform base on which to build new cloud-native services.

The RHEL trial is through software credits for services running on Google Cloud. The credits cover six months of technical support from Red Hat; hardened security and compliance through pre-approved baselines, proactive threat prevention, and patching services; and RHEL integration into the Google Cloud console.

The credits are available to organizations that are verified active participants in Google for Startups Cloud Program “start tier,” new Red Hat customers, and provide a valid Google Billing ID and contact details through an authorized individual. Organizations that participate in Red Hat’s The Open Accelerator program are automatically eligible for the credit program as well.

"Startups need the freedom to innovate rapidly without risking the architectural integrity of their applications,” Stefanie Chiras, SVP for The Open Accelerator, noted in a statement. “By bringing RHEL to the Google for Startups Cloud Program and participants of The Open Accelerator, we are providing founders with an enterprise-grade foundation from day one. Whether it’s building next-generation AI models or scaling cloud-native services, this collaboration helps startups transition from early development to hyper-growth with complete confidence."

The Open Accelerator is a Boston-based initiative formed by Red Hat, parent company IBM, MA AI Hub, and IBM Ventures. It provides capital and ecosystem support to AI-focused organizations in Massachusetts.

Google’s Startup initiative dates back to 2011, when it was launched as the Google for Entrepreneurs program. The program was renamed and rebranded in late 2018 under the Startups moniker “to better reflect our users--tech startups and startup communities,” the hyperscaler noted at that time.

The program currently offers several cloud credit tiers for various programs, including up to $350,000 over a two-year period for AI-focused organizations.