Just days after Snap Inc. said in its filing to go public that it will pay Google Inc. $2 billion over five years for cloud services, it has updated the filing to reveal another big cloud deal: a $1 billion, five-year pact with Amazon Web Services.

The deal means that the creator of Snapchat will spend $3 billion over the next five years to run its services on public clouds, surely one of the biggest endorsements of cloud computing. It’s no secret that Snap has relied on Google for computing and storage services, but the surprise was how big the deal was.

The deal with Amazon Web Services is also significant, equal to the combined amount of its reported deals with the Central Intelligence Agency, at $600 million, and Salesforce.com Inc., at $400 million. However, it’s nowhere near the rumored 40 percent to 60 percent share of Google Cloud’s revenues that some sources said the $2 billion implies. AWS reported $3.54 billion in fourth-quarter revenues, slightly under analysts’ expectations but up 47 percent from a year ago.

Snap said it signed an agreement with AWS way back in March 2016 and amended it on Wednesday. The latest terms commit Snap to spend $1 billion on AWS by December 2021. More specifically, Snap will spend $50 million this year, followed by $125 million in 2018, and then $200 million, $275 million and $350 million in each later year. As with the Google deal, if Snap ends up not buying that minimum level of services, it has to pay anyway.

It’s not clear why the updated deal was announced just days after Snap’s initial filing. But it’s also no secret that AWS and its Chief Executive Andy Jassy (pictured) are fierce competitors, and no doubt didn’t want to let Google’s blockbuster deal pass unanswered.

Deals of this scope aren’t done entirely in a week, however, so it was likely in process even before the initial filing. Given the material nature of the final deal, it’s likely that Snap believed it was necessary to report it. The escalating nature of the deal suggests that the two companies nailed down specifics only recently.

Google playing catchup

AWS is the clear leader in cloud computing, commanding a third of the $10.3 billion market in the fourth quarter alone, according to the research firm Canalys. Second is Microsoft Corp.’s Azure, and Google is a distant third behind Azure. IBM Corp. and Oracle Corp. are also making concerted efforts to provide various kinds of cloud services.

The Snap arrangement with both companies indicates that AWS remains a strong player among cutting-edge companies, but it also makes clear that Google is serious about its cloud business. Some customers have expressed uncertainty about the level of Google’s corporate commitment to the cloud and enterprise computing.

Running services on two different clouds is becoming more common today, but it’s not without its risks. As the filing notes, “Any transition of the cloud services currently provided by Google Cloud to another cloud provider would be difficult to implement and will cause us to incur significant time and expense.”

The filing refers to using AWS services for “redundant infrastructure support of our business operations,” which implies a secondary position to Google. However, sources close to the deal said Snap plans to “substantially” increase its use of AWS to run a larger share of the Snapchat app.

Neither Google nor AWS can rest easy. Snap also said in its filing that it could build its own cloud infrastructure at some point. Moreover, Snap said the Google deal “permits us to use other third-party service providers for a portion of our cloud services.” Given that companies such as close Snap rival Facebook Inc. design and run their own cloud infrastructure, it seems like Snap also could move some of its services back on-premises if its growth continues.

SiliconANGLE reached out to Amazon and Google, but neither would offer a public comment. This post was updated with comments from sources close to the AWS deal.

Photo by Robert Hof