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🔥 Building an AI product? You could save tens of thousands of dollars on hosting and AI infrastructure.
Many leading tech companies offer startups free cloud, AI, GPU, and API credits.
I researched these programs for myself and collected 14 options worth checking — from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands in credits.
Typical requirements include a working website, company email, and sometimes an MVP or prototype.
Here’s the list 👇
1. Google Cloud — $2,000-$350,000 in cloud, AI/ML, and Firebase credits
What you get: Cloud infrastructure, AI/ML, and Firebase credits.
Requirements: Startup up to 5–10 years old, website, company email.
2. Google Pre-Funded — $2,000 for cloud and AI services
What you get: $2,000 in Google Cloud and AI credits.
Requirements: Pre-funded stage, website, company email.
3. AWS Startup Credits — $1,000-$100,000 for cloud, AI/ML, and databases
What you get: AWS credits that can be used across cloud infrastructure, databases, and AI/ML services.
Requirements: Up to Series B, startup under 10 years old, new AWS account.
4. Cloudflare for Startups — $10,000-$350,000
What you get: Credits for network infrastructure, security, Workers, and R2.
Requirements: New account, valid payment card, 1 year of access.
5. Microsoft for Startups — $1,000-$5,000
What you get: Credits for Azure, AI services, and databases.
Requirements: New customers, 90–180 days of access.
6. Alibaba Cloud — $1,000-$120,000
What you get: Cloud and AI/ML credits.
Requirements: Startup under 10 years old, MVP, website, company email.
7. IBM Startup Program — up to $120,000/year
What you get: Credits for IBM Cloud, Watson, AI, and security products.
Requirements: Startup under 10 years old, MVP, 1 year of access.
8. DigitalOcean for Startups — custom credits
What you get: Cloud and GPU resources.
Requirements: AI/ML startups prioritized, website, company email, 1 year of access.
9. Scaleway Startup Program — €1,000-€36,000
What you get: Credits for cloud infrastructure, servers, and storage.
Requirements: 6–12 months of access.
10. Modal for Startups — $500-$50,000
What you get: GPU credits for machine learning and AI workloads.
Requirements: Startup under 5 years old, website, 1 year of access.
11. Groq for Startups — $10,000
What you get: Credits for LLM/AI inference.
Requirements: Selection process or VC partners, 90 days.
12. Perplexity for Startups — API and search credits
What you get: Credits for Perplexity API and search services.
Requirements: Startup stage, AI product.
13. Thesys Startups — $1,000
What you get: Credits for the Generative UI API.
Requirements: Funding under $3M or revenue under $1M, AI product, 12 months.
14. ElevenLabs Startup Grants — 33M characters/month (~$4K value)
What you get: Voice AI credits equivalent to approximately $4,000 in value.
Requirements: Early-stage startup with an MVP, 12 months.
💡 Didn’t Find the Right Program?
Don’t stop with this list.
If you’re already planning to use a specific service, try searching for:
“[service name] for startups”
or
“[service name] startup credits”
You can also use AI research tools like Perplexity to discover smaller or newer programs.
A few thousand dollars in credits may not sound transformational, but if you’re building an early-stage product, it can mean months of infrastructure you don’t have to pay for yourself.
And if you’re combining several services — cloud + GPU + AI APIs + voice or search — the savings can add up quickly.
Thanks for being here!
Build smarter. Spend less. Keep going.
— Dmytro