Startup Credits
Most big cloud and AI vendors give startups free credits. The headline numbers are large, but the top tiers usually require venture funding or a referral from an accelerator or VC. Amounts and rules change often, so check each program page before applying.
Cloud providers
| Program | Entry credits | Top credits | Who gets the top tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Activate | $1,000 (Founders tier, up to $5,000 over time) | Up to $200,000 (Portfolio tier), more for AI startups | Backed by an Activate provider such as a VC, accelerator, or incubator; pre-Series B |
| Google for Startups Cloud Program | Start tier for pre-funded startups | Up to $200,000, or $350,000 for AI startups | Seed to Series A with venture funding; AI tier needs Vertex AI or Gemini at the core of the product |
| Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub | $1,000 (Ideate) | $150,000 (Scale) | Unlocked progressively; the top level usually needs an investor network referral |
Notes:
- AWS also has a separate AI tier of up to $300,000 for startups building foundation models. Credits above $200,000 go through an account manager.
- Google AI tier credits cover 100% of eligible usage in year 1 (up to $250,000) and 20% in year 2 (up to $100,000 more). Credits cover Gemini and Gemma.
- Microsoft needs no VC backing, accelerator, or revenue to join. Credits last about 12 months per allocation. The program also includes GitHub Enterprise, Microsoft 365, and Azure OpenAI access.
Other cloud and infrastructure programs
- Oracle for Startups: Up to $100,000 in OCI credits over time, plus discounted rates and access to NVIDIA GPU clusters.
- Cloudflare Startup Program: $10,000 for bootstrapped teams with under $1M raised, $100,000 for teams under $5M raised with a Cloudflare partner investor, and up to $350,000 for teams that have raised $5M or more with a partner investor. Enterprise security features are free at every tier.
- CoreWeave Accelerator: GPU cloud credits and compute discounts. The amounts are not public.
- Lambda for Startups: Discounted GPU credits for early-stage AI companies.
- DigitalOcean Hatch: Credits for 12 months. The amount varies.
- Vercel: Up to about $30,000, with partner credits bundled into its AI Accelerator.
- Supabase and MongoDB: Both run startup programs with credits, but the amounts vary and are not published.
NVIDIA Inception
NVIDIA Inception is free to join at any stage and does not give NVIDIA’s own credits directly. Instead it unlocks:
- Cloud GPU credits through partners (Google Cloud, Oracle, AWS, Azure), reported at up to $100,000
- Preferred pricing on select NVIDIA hardware and software
- Deep Learning Institute training credits and SDK access
- Introductions to venture capital firms through Inception Capital Connect
Anthropic
The Anthropic startup program gives eligible startups Claude API credits plus priority rate limits, founder events, and office hours. Third-party guides report:
- About $5,000 for a direct application
- Larger amounts, up to roughly $100,000, for startups referred by a partner VC or accelerator
- Eligibility: equity-funded, founded in roughly the last four years, no previous Anthropic startup credits
- Credits last about 12 months
Anthropic does not publish the tier amounts itself, so treat these numbers as approximate.
OpenAI
OpenAI has no standalone self-serve startup credit program. Credits mostly come through partners:
- About $2,500 by opening a Ramp account
- Around $5,000 from a VC or accelerator partner
- Larger allocations bundled with accelerators such as Y Combinator
- Credits usually last 12 months
These amounts come from third-party guides, so check with the partner before counting on them.