According to Cointelegraph, Polygon Labs announced on September 29 that Google Cloud has joined the Polygon PoS network as a validator. Google Cloud is now one of over 100 validators verifying transactions on the L2 Ethereum network. The same infrastructure used to power YouTube and Gmail is now helping to secure the fast, low-cost, Ethereum-for-all Polygon protocol.

Validators on the Polygon network help secure the network by operating nodes, staking MATIC, and participating in proof-of-stake consensus mechanics. Google Cloud Singapore confirmed on Twitter that it is now serving as a validator on the Polygon PoS network, contributing to the network's collective security, governance, and decentralization alongside 100+ other validators.

While many of the validators are anonymous, Google Cloud joins Germany's Deutsche Telekom, one of Europe’s largest telecommunications firms, on the Polygon network. Google Cloud describes its relationship with Polygon Labs as “an ongoing strategic collaboration.” Alongside the announcement that it would be joining the network as a validator, Google Cloud APAC also released a YouTube video titled “Polygon Labs is solving for a Web3 future for all.”

Polygon Labs recently launched its “Polygon 2.0” initiative to update the Polygon network. As Cointelegraph reported, “Phase 0,” the current phase, features three Polygon Improvement Proposals (PIPs), PIPs 17-19. PIP 17 involves the transition from MATIC to new token POL, while PIPs 18 and 19 address supporting endeavors such as the technical description of POL and updating gas tokens. According to Polygon, these changes are slated to begin taking place in Q4 2023.