Startup Programs

Tool	Potential Value	Description
Google Cloud Cloud	$350,000	Provides up to $200,000 in credits for cloud services and infrastructure.
Approval Index VC-Backed Typically requires VC partner intro Eligibility Must be less than 5 years old Must have received less than Series A funding Must not be a previous Google Cloud Platform program participant Must have a company website Must be associated with an approved accelerator, incubator, or VC firm (for full program) Programs Google for Startups Cloud Program $200,000 Google for Startups Cloud Program (AI track) $350,000 View full breakdown Apply on Google Cloud
Cloudflare Infra / Edge	$250,000	Offers tiered startup credits from $5,000 to $250,000 based on funding stage.
Approval Index Open to All Available to most startups Eligibility Tiers based on stage (bootstrapped → high‑growth); building a software product; typically ≤5 years old. Programs Cloudflare for Startups Up to $250,000 View full breakdown Apply on Cloudflare
Microsoft Cloud	$150,000	Offers up to $150,000 in Azure credits for cloud services and development tools.
Approval Index VC-Backed Typically requires VC partner intro Eligibility Must be less than 7 years old Must have annual revenue less than $10M Must not be a previous Microsoft for Startups participant Must have a professional website Must be building a business-to-business technology solution Programs Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub $150,000 Azure Cloud Credits for Startups $5,000 Microsoft for Startups — Investor Offer $100,000 View full breakdown Apply on Microsoft
IBM Cloud	$120,000	Provides up to $120,000 cloud credits for cloud services and AI.
Approval Index Conditions Specific eligibility criteria apply Eligibility Must be less than 5 years old Must have less than $1M in annual revenue Must not be a current IBM Cloud customer Must have a minimum viable product Must be building an innovative technology solution Programs Startup with IBM $120,000 View full breakdown Apply on IBM
AWS Cloud	$100,000	Offers up to $100,000 in AWS credits for cloud infrastructure, AI model credits via Bedrock, and up to $1M for select accelerator cohorts.
Approval Index Open to All Available to most startups Eligibility Must be less than 10 years old Must not have previously received AWS Activate credits Must be privately held Must have a professional company website and email Must be a member of an approved accelerator, incubator, VC, or other startup organization (for full $100k credits) Programs AWS Activate $100,000 AWS Activate Founders $1,000 AWS Activate (Portfolio/Founders) $100,000 View full breakdown Apply on AWS
New credits added monthly — get them first Join 1,500+ founders. One email/month, no spam. Email address
DigitalOcean Cloud	$100,000	Provides up to $5,000 in infrastructure credits for their cloud platform.
Approval Index VC-Backed Typically requires VC partner intro Eligibility Must be less than 5 years old Must be part of an approved accelerator or incubator Must not have previously received DigitalOcean credits Must have a company website Must be building a scalable technology product Programs DigitalOcean for Startups $5,000 DigitalOcean for Startups $100,000 View full breakdown Apply on DigitalOcean
Anthropic AI models / API	$100,000	Offers $25,000 to $100,000+ in Claude API credits for startups depending on stage.
Approval Index VC-Backed Typically requires VC partner intro Eligibility Available to startups backed by Anthropic’s VC partners. Programs Claude for Startups $25,000 - $100,000+ View full breakdown Apply on Anthropic
Oracle Cloud Cloud	$100,000	Up to $100,000 in Oracle Cloud credits with $500 free to start and 70% discount.
Approval Index Conditions Specific eligibility criteria apply Eligibility Benefits vary by region/partner; Always Free services available. Must be less than 10 years old Must have a minimum viable product Must not be a current Oracle Cloud customer Must have a scalable technology solution Programs Oracle for Startups Up to $100,000 View full breakdown Apply on Oracle Cloud
Stripe Financial	$50,000+	$2,500 in Stripe product credits plus over $50,000 in partner discounts from AWS, Mercury, Carta, and more.
Approval Index Open to All Available to most startups Eligibility Must be a new startup or an established private business Must be intended to grow an online or online-enabled business Must comply with Stripe's compliance requirements Programs Incorporation Package $2,500 + $50,000+ in perks View full breakdown Apply on Stripe
Databricks Data & AI	$50,000	Provides up to $50,000 in credits for data and AI workloads.
Approval Index VC-Backed Typically requires VC partner intro Eligibility VC‑backed focus; pre‑seed/seed in accelerator. Programs Databricks for Startups Up to $50,000 View full breakdown Apply on Databricks
Mistral AI AI models / API	$30,000	Provides approximately €30,000 in credits for La Plateforme plus cohort mentorship through their 6-month startup program.
Approval Index VC-Backed Typically requires VC partner intro Eligibility Cohorts of ~10 startups; 6‑month program. Programs Mistralship (Startup Program) $30,000 View full breakdown Apply on Mistral AI
OpenAI AI models / API	$5,000	Up to $5,000 in OpenAI API credits — including the GPT-4o and ChatGPT API models — for venture-backed startups through OpenAI for Startups.
Approval Index Conditions Specific eligibility criteria apply Eligibility Must be less than 5 years old from incorporation Must be venture-backed via an OpenAI partner VC/accelerator OR enrolled through Ramp with verified VC funding Pre-revenue startups eligible with a functional product or prototype One credit grant per OpenAI organization — cannot be stacked Credits expire 12 months from issuance and are non-transferable Programs OpenAI for Startups Up to $5,000 in API credits View full breakdown Apply on OpenAI
HubSpot Marketing	Varies	Offers up to 90% off on marketing, sales, and CRM software for startups.
Approval Index Conditions Specific eligibility criteria apply Eligibility Must have raised Pre-seed, Seed, or Series A funding (not Series B or later) Must be affiliated with an approved HubSpot for Startups partner OR have raised verified venture funding (verifiable via Crunchbase or Pitchbook) 30% tier requires association with an approved entrepreneurial organization Discount applies to net-new Professional or Enterprise level products only Programs HubSpot for Startups Up to 90% off Year 1 View full breakdown Apply on HubSpot
Cohere AI models / API	Varies	Offers discounted enterprise AI pricing (up to 25% off) and grant access through Cohere Labs for early-stage startups.
Approval Index Conditions Specific eligibility criteria apply Eligibility Early‑stage startups; separate Catalyst Grants for researchers/impact orgs. Programs Cohere Startup Program Varies View full breakdown Apply on Cohere
NVIDIA Inception AI Program	Varies	Free program for AI and data-science startups — discounts on NVIDIA hardware/software, technical training, and go-to-market support.
Approval Index Conditions Specific eligibility criteria apply Eligibility Building products in AI, deep learning, or data science Privately held; less than $20M raised (lower tiers) Programs NVIDIA Inception Free + partner discounts View full breakdown Apply on NVIDIA Inception

Tool

Potential Value

Description

Action

Google Cloud

Cloud

$350,000

Provides up to $200,000 in credits for cloud services and infrastructure.

Approval Index

VC-Backed Typically requires VC partner intro

Eligibility

Must be less than 5 years old
Must have received less than Series A funding
Must not be a previous Google Cloud Platform program participant
Must have a company website
Must be associated with an approved accelerator, incubator, or VC firm (for full program)

Programs

Google for Startups Cloud Program

$200,000
Google for Startups Cloud Program (AI track)

$350,000

View full breakdown Apply on Google Cloud

Cloudflare

Infra / Edge

$250,000

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

Microsoft

Cloud

$150,000

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

Approval Index

VC-Backed Typically requires VC partner intro

Eligibility

Must be less than 7 years old
Must have annual revenue less than $10M
Must not be a previous Microsoft for Startups participant
Must have a professional website
Must be building a business-to-business technology solution

Programs

Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub

$150,000
Azure Cloud Credits for Startups

$5,000
Microsoft for Startups — Investor Offer

$100,000

View full breakdown Apply on Microsoft

IBM

Cloud

$120,000

Provides up to $120,000 cloud credits for cloud services and AI.

Approval Index

Conditions Specific eligibility criteria apply

Eligibility

Must be less than 5 years old
Must have less than $1M in annual revenue
Must not be a current IBM Cloud customer
Must have a minimum viable product
Must be building an innovative technology solution

Programs

Startup with IBM

$120,000

View full breakdown Apply on IBM

AWS

Cloud

$100,000

Offers up to $100,000 in AWS credits for cloud infrastructure, AI model credits via Bedrock, and up to $1M for select accelerator cohorts.

Approval Index

Open to All Available to most startups

Eligibility

Must be less than 10 years old
Must not have previously received AWS Activate credits
Must be privately held
Must have a professional company website and email
Must be a member of an approved accelerator, incubator, VC, or other startup organization (for full $100k credits)

Programs

AWS Activate

$100,000
AWS Activate Founders

$1,000
AWS Activate (Portfolio/Founders)

$100,000

View full breakdown Apply on AWS

DigitalOcean

Cloud

$100,000

Provides up to $5,000 in infrastructure credits for their cloud platform.

Approval Index

VC-Backed Typically requires VC partner intro

Eligibility

Must be less than 5 years old
Must be part of an approved accelerator or incubator
Must not have previously received DigitalOcean credits
Must have a company website
Must be building a scalable technology product

Programs

DigitalOcean for Startups

$5,000
DigitalOcean for Startups

$100,000

View full breakdown Apply on DigitalOcean

Anthropic

AI models / API

$100,000

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

Oracle Cloud

Cloud

$100,000

Up to $100,000 in Oracle Cloud credits with $500 free to start and 70% discount.

Approval Index

Conditions Specific eligibility criteria apply

Eligibility

Benefits vary by region/partner; Always Free services available.
Must be less than 10 years old
Must have a minimum viable product
Must not be a current Oracle Cloud customer
Must have a scalable technology solution

Programs

Oracle for Startups

Up to $100,000

View full breakdown Apply on Oracle Cloud

Stripe

Financial

$50,000+

$2,500 in Stripe product credits plus over $50,000 in partner discounts from AWS, Mercury, Carta, and more.

Approval Index

Open to All Available to most startups

Eligibility

Must be a new startup or an established private business
Must be intended to grow an online or online-enabled business
Must comply with Stripe's compliance requirements

Programs

Incorporation Package

$2,500 + $50,000+ in perks

View full breakdown Apply on Stripe

Databricks

Data & AI

$50,000

Provides up to $50,000 in credits for data and AI workloads.

Mistral AI

AI models / API

$30,000

Provides approximately €30,000 in credits for La Plateforme plus cohort mentorship through their 6-month startup program.

OpenAI

AI models / API

$5,000

Up to $5,000 in OpenAI API credits — including the GPT-4o and ChatGPT API models — for venture-backed startups through OpenAI for Startups.

Approval Index

Conditions Specific eligibility criteria apply

Eligibility

Must be less than 5 years old from incorporation
Must be venture-backed via an OpenAI partner VC/accelerator OR enrolled through Ramp with verified VC funding
Pre-revenue startups eligible with a functional product or prototype
One credit grant per OpenAI organization — cannot be stacked
Credits expire 12 months from issuance and are non-transferable

Programs

OpenAI for Startups

Up to $5,000 in API credits

View full breakdown Apply on OpenAI

HubSpot

Marketing

Varies

Offers up to 90% off on marketing, sales, and CRM software for startups.

Approval Index

Conditions Specific eligibility criteria apply

Eligibility

Must have raised Pre-seed, Seed, or Series A funding (not Series B or later)
Must be affiliated with an approved HubSpot for Startups partner OR have raised verified venture funding (verifiable via Crunchbase or Pitchbook)
30% tier requires association with an approved entrepreneurial organization
Discount applies to net-new Professional or Enterprise level products only

Programs

HubSpot for Startups

Up to 90% off Year 1

View full breakdown Apply on HubSpot

Cohere

AI models / API

Varies

Offers discounted enterprise AI pricing (up to 25% off) and grant access through Cohere Labs for early-stage startups.

NVIDIA Inception

AI Program

Varies

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

Google Cloud

Cloud

$350,000

Provides up to $200,000 in credits for cloud services and infrastructure.

Cloudflare

Infra / Edge

$250,000

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

Microsoft

Cloud

$150,000

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

IBM

Cloud

$120,000

Provides up to $120,000 cloud credits for cloud services and AI.

AWS

Cloud

$100,000

Offers up to $100,000 in AWS credits for cloud infrastructure, AI model credits via Bedrock, and up to $1M for select accelerator cohorts.

DigitalOcean

Cloud

$100,000

Provides up to $5,000 in infrastructure credits for their cloud platform.

Anthropic

AI models / API

$100,000

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

Oracle Cloud

Cloud

$100,000

Up to $100,000 in Oracle Cloud credits with $500 free to start and 70% discount.

Stripe

Financial

$50,000+

$2,500 in Stripe product credits plus over $50,000 in partner discounts from AWS, Mercury, Carta, and more.

Databricks

Data & AI

$50,000

Provides up to $50,000 in credits for data and AI workloads.

Mistral AI

AI models / API

$30,000

Provides approximately €30,000 in credits for La Plateforme plus cohort mentorship through their 6-month startup program.

OpenAI

AI models / API

$5,000

Up to $5,000 in OpenAI API credits — including the GPT-4o and ChatGPT API models — for venture-backed startups through OpenAI for Startups.

HubSpot

Marketing

Varies

Offers up to 90% off on marketing, sales, and CRM software for startups.

Cohere

AI models / API

Varies

Offers discounted enterprise AI pricing (up to 25% off) and grant access through Cohere Labs for early-stage startups.

NVIDIA Inception

AI Program

Varies

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

Frequently asked questions

What programs are available for startups?

Credit for Startups lists 15 programs programs, including Google Cloud, Cloudflare, Microsoft, IBM, worth up to $350,000. Browse the list to compare value, eligibility, and how to apply.

Do I need to be VC-backed to qualify?

Not always. Some programs are open to bootstrapped founders; others require a VC or accelerator referral. Each listing shows its referral requirement and application difficulty — or use the Get Matched tool to filter to programs that fit your startup.

How do I apply?

Pick a program, review its eligibility and step-by-step "how to apply" on its page, then apply directly through the provider. It's free to apply, and we're an independent directory — not affiliated with the programs listed.

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Frequently asked questions

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Do I need to be VC-backed to qualify?

How do I apply?

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