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AI Startup Funding: Credits, Grants & Accelerators

Built for AI founders. A free directory of compute credits, model credits, and accelerators open to AI companies. Every listing shows who qualifies, what it is worth, and how to apply.

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Google Cloud Anthropic NVIDIA Inception Together AI

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AI startup: Funding Credits
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Provides up to $200,000 in credits for cloud services and infrastructure.

VC-Backed

Offers $25,000 to $100,000+ in Claude API credits for startups depending on stage.

VC-Backed

Free program for AI and data-science startups — discounts on NVIDIA hardware/software, technical training, and go-to-market support.

Conditions

AI acceleration cloud offering tiered platform credits up to $50K plus dedicated AI engineering support for inference, fine-tuning, and clusters.

Conditions

The most well-known startup accelerator — $500K for 7% (standard deal) plus 12 weeks of intensive support and Demo Day.

Conditions

Corporate cards and spend management platform offering startups no-personal-guarantee cards, cashback, and $350,000+ in partner perks and software credits.

Conditions

Offers tiered startup credits from $5,000 to $250,000 based on funding stage.

Open to All

$220,000 investment: $20,000 convertible equity for 5% common stock plus $200,000 uncapped MFN SAFE.

Conditions

UC Berkeley's global startup accelerator — $200K investment plus a six-month program with Berkeley faculty and mentors.

Conditions

Offers up to $150,000 in Azure credits for cloud services and development tools.

VC-Backed

AI startup credits: compute, models & tools

Compute is the whole game for AI startups. The cloud AI tracks are the biggest pools, model API credits stack on top, and infra tools like Modal and Replicate cover the gaps.

AI startup accelerators & incubators

Every major accelerator is hunting for AI companies right now. Y Combinator invests $500K, and NVIDIA Inception adds hardware pricing without taking equity.

See which programs you qualify for

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AI startup funding FAQs

What funding is available for ai startups?

Credit for Startups tracks 92 programs open to AI founders, worth a combined $4.0M+. That includes Y Combinator, Google Cloud, Ramp. Every listing shows its value, eligibility, and how to apply.

How much compute can an AI startup get for free?

The AI tracks at Google Cloud, AWS, and Azure add up to more than $600K, and model providers like Anthropic, OpenAI, Mistral, and Together stack on top. Well over $700K is realistic for an AI-first team.

Do model API credits stack with cloud credits?

Yes. API credits from Anthropic or OpenAI are separate from your cloud bill, so you can claim both. NVIDIA Inception discounts stack on top of either.

Do I need to be VC-backed for the big AI tiers?

For the top tiers, often yes. Google’s $350K AI track and some model programs want a VC or accelerator connection. Plenty of programs here take bootstrapped teams, and each listing shows the requirement.

Which accelerators are best for AI startups?

Y Combinator is the most common path and invests $500K. Techstars, 500 Global, and Antler all back AI teams, and NVIDIA Inception works alongside any of them since it takes no equity.