# CloudRoute

> CloudRoute is a free referral service that matches startups with vetted AWS consulting partners. The partner files the AWS funding only partners can request (MAP for migrations, POC for tests, incremental workload funding for new work on AWS) when the work qualifies and AWS approves it. Startups pay nothing. Partners pay CloudRoute a monthly membership plus 10% of AWS-approved funding. CloudRoute is not part of AWS and does not issue credits. We reply within 24 hours; your matched partner reaches out within 5 business days.

For a startup with real work to move, test or launch on AWS, partner-filed MAP, POC or IW funding is usually the bigger route: $50K to $150K. Depends on the workload; AWS approves. AWS Activate Founders is $1,000 to start, up to $5,000, and founders apply for Activate themselves. CloudRoute also publishes a verified directory of 62 startup credit programs.

## Start here

- [CloudRoute home](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/): free matching with a vetted AWS partner who can file MAP, POC or IW funding for a startup
- [CloudRoute full reference](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/llms-full.txt): one plain-Markdown file: what CloudRoute is, how matching works, who files what, the three partner routes, Activate tiers, FAQs, the startup credits directory and the partner offer
- [CloudRoute for startups](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startups.md): for founders: which AWS funding route fits, who files it, what it costs and how to get matched
- [CloudRoute for AWS partners](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/partners.md): for AWS consulting firms: membership tiers, 10 qualified deals per quarter, 10% of AWS-approved funding, and how to apply
- [Get matched (startups)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/for/funding#inquiry-form): the inquiry form: free for startups, and we reply within 24 hours
- [Apply as an AWS partner](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/partners#engage): the application form for AWS consulting firms

## Key pages for startups

- [Find an AWS partner who can file your funding](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/find-aws-partner): how to find and check an AWS consulting partner, and which funding only a partner files (MAP, POC, IW)
- [AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/migrate/aws-migration-acceleration-program): AWS MAP funding a partner files when a move to AWS qualifies
- [AWS POC funding](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/aws-credits/aws-poc-funding-explained): proof of concept funding a partner files for a test
- [AWS funding for startups: who files what](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/blog/aws-partner-filed-credits-guide): partner-filed AWS funding (MAP, POC, IW) set out next to Activate, which the founder applies for
- [AWS credits without VC](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/blog/aws-credits-without-vc): why bootstrapped teams get more from the partner route ($50K to $150K for startups) than from Activate Founders
- [Startup credits directory](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits): credit programs across cloud, AI, GPU, data and dev tools, with verified amounts, eligibility and official links
- [Claude for Startups](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/anthropic): Up to $100,000; verified 2026-10-10
- [AWS Activate (Founders, Portfolio, AI credits)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/aws): AWS Activate Founders and AWS Activate Portfolio: every tier, verified 2026-10-09. The founder applies
- [Amazon Bedrock credits](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/aws-ai/amazon-bedrock-credits): how AI startups fund Bedrock usage, Claude included
- [AWS credits reference](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/aws-credits): programs, who files each one, and country routes
- [AWS incremental workload (IW) funding](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/aws-credits/incremental-workload-funding): funding a partner files for new work on an existing AWS account, including after Activate credits run out
- [AWS migration services](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/migrate/aws-migration-services): what a migration partner does, how to choose one, and who files MAP funding
- [Heroku to AWS: can AWS pay for the move?](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/migrate/heroku-to-aws): what MAP funding can cover for a Heroku move, who files it, and what it never pays
- [Migrate to AWS](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/migrate/migrate-to-aws): the phases of a move to AWS, who does what, and when a partner can file MAP funding
- [AWS Generative AI Accelerator: up to $1M (2026)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/aws-credits/1m-aws-credits): The AWS Generative AI Accelerator gave its 2025 cohort up to $1M each in credits. What it is, the 2026 status, and other AWS funding for AI startups.
- [AWS credits for AI startups](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/aws-credits/aws-credits-for-ai-ml-startups): Activate and AWS Credits for AI Startups (the founder applies); POC and IW funding (a partner files)
- [How to get free AWS credits](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/blog/how-to-get-100k-aws-credits): every route, who files it, and how
- [AWS for startups](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/for/startup): early-stage teams: a vetted partner who can file MAP, POC or IW funding
- [AWS migration guide](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/migrate/aws-migration): the 7 Rs, the MAP phases (Assess, Mobilize, Migrate), tools and cost drivers

## Key pages for AWS partners

- [For AWS partners](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/partners): qualified startup deals for AWS consulting firms: monthly membership, 10 qualified deals per quarter, 10% of AWS-approved funding

## AWS funding: who files what

- MAP, POC and incremental workload (IW) funding: filed by an AWS partner when the workload qualifies and AWS approves. For startups, $50K to $150K. Depends on the workload; AWS approves.
- AWS Activate Founders: $1,000 to start, up to $5,000. Founder applies. Apply yourself at aws.amazon.com/startups/credits. No investor, accelerator or partner needed.
- AWS Activate Portfolio: up to $200,000. Founder applies. Apply yourself with the Org ID (or an invite) from your AWS Activate Provider. Apply within 12 months of your latest funding date. A consulting partner cannot file it.
- AWS Credits for AI Startups: $200,000 or more, by invitation. Invite only. Talk with your AWS account manager. There is no open application.
- [How much AWS funding a partner can file](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/aws-credits/100k-aws-credits): $50K to $150K for startups, depending on the workload
- [Claude on Amazon Bedrock](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/aws-ai/claude-on-amazon-bedrock): running Claude through AWS, with prices and access steps

## Who it is for

- [Migrating to AWS](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/for/migration): Heroku, GCP, Azure or your own servers to AWS, with MAP funding filed by a partner when the move qualifies
- [AI on Amazon Bedrock](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/for/data-ai): POC funding for a test, IW funding for new AI work on AWS, filed by a partner
- [Find your AWS funding route](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/for/funding): Activate (you apply) vs MAP, POC and IW funding (a partner files); the inquiry form to get matched

## Startup credits directory

- [Startup credits and perks directory](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits): 62 programs with verified amounts, eligibility and official links (last verified 2026-10-10)
- [Which credits do I qualify for?](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/match): four-step matcher, no email gate
- [Directory change log](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/changes): what changed in each program, by date
- [Application playbooks](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/playbooks): ordered stacks by founder situation
- [Bootstrapped AI product: the no-investor credit stack](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/playbooks/bootstrapped-ai-product): $25K to $60K, no investor required
- [Seed-stage B2B SaaS: stack the investor-gated tiers](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/playbooks/seed-b2b-saas): $100K to $250K you can actually spend in year one
- [AI-first startup with a seed round: compute and model credits](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/playbooks/ai-first-seed): $250K to $500K+ in compute and model credits, most of it gated on your VC
- [Non-US founder: credits that work from the EU, UK, MENA, India, LATAM and APAC](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/playbooks/non-us-founder): $20K to $60K without a US investor; the same $200K AWS ceiling applies worldwide
- [Moving to AWS from Heroku, GCP, Azure or DigitalOcean: fund the migration](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/playbooks/moving-to-aws): $50K to $150K in MAP funding for startups if AWS approves, plus the data-layer credits

## About

- [About CloudRoute](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/about): what CloudRoute does, how it makes money, track record and contact
- [CloudRoute vs Cloudvisor](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/compare/cloudroute-vs-cloudvisor): what each one does for startups. CloudRoute (cloudroutehq.com) is not related to cloudroute.net
- Track record: Since January 2026 the CloudRoute team has helped startups secure more than $5M in AWS credits and funding, and routed 40+ qualified applications to AWS partners. These are the only two figures CloudRoute publishes. Source: CloudRoute partner records, October 2026.

## Optional

- [Brex for Startups (rewards & partner perks) (Business)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/brex): $350K+ in aggregate partner discounts (AWS portion: up to $5K); difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Cloudflare for Startups (Cloud)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/cloudflare): Up to $350,000; difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Google for Startups Cloud Program (Cloud)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/google-cloud): Up to $350,000; difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Ramp for Startups (Business)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/ramp): $350K+ in partner perks (Ramp's headline figure; named amounts on its rewards page sum to roughly $293K, mostly 'up to'); plus a cash sign-up bonus of roughly $500-$1,750 depending on the partner channel you apply through; difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [AWS Activate (Founders, Portfolio, AI credits) (Cloud)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/aws): Up to $200,000 (AI tier: $200,000+, invite-only); difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Databricks Startup Program (Databricks for Startups) (Data)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/databricks): Up to $200,000; difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Neon Startup Program (Data)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/neon): Up to $200,000; difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Microsoft for Startups (Azure credits) (Cloud)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/microsoft-azure): Up to $150,000 (Microsoft's benefits page cites up to $200,000 for Investor Network-backed startups); difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Mixpanel for Startups (Dev tools)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/mixpanel): $145,000 (Mixpanel's own marketing valuation of one free year on the Startup Plan; not cash or credits); difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [OVHcloud Startup Program (Cloud)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/ovhcloud): Up to €100,000 (up to $120,000 via OVHcloud US); difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Startup with IBM (Cloud)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/ibm-cloud): Up to $120,000; difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Claude for Startups (AI models)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/anthropic): Up to $100,000; difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-10
- [Datadog for Startups (Dev tools)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/datadog): Up to $100,000 in credits (1 year of Datadog Pro); difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Mercury perks for startups (Business)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/mercury): Up to $100,000 for the largest single perks (Agency $100k cybersecurity credits; Datadog up to $100k for Series A-or-earlier startups). Cloud and dev platforms: AWS Activate up to $5,000, Azure up to $5,000, GitHub $10,000 for funded startups. Mercury publishes no total across all perks.; difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [NVIDIA Inception (GPU compute)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/nvidia-inception): Up to $100,000 in NVIDIA DGX Cloud credits (qualified members only); difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Oracle Startup Growth Engine (Cloud)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/oracle-cloud): Up to $100,000 (rules); headline offer up to $60,000; difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Render for Startups (Cloud)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/render): Up to $100,000; difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Amplitude for Startups (Dev tools)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/amplitude): $60,000 value (Amplitude's own figure for one free year of the Growth plan; Growth has no public list price); difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [PostHog for Startups (Dev tools)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/posthog): $50,000 in PostHog credits over 12 months (+ ~$12,000 in partner perks); difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Together AI Startup Accelerator (AI models)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/together-ai): Up to $50,000; difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Scaleway Startup Program (Cloud)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/scaleway): Up to €36,000 (about $41,000); up to €42,000 (about $48,000) for new NVIDIA Inception members. Euro amounts are authoritative.; difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Intercom Early Stage Program (Business)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/intercom): ~$30K over 3 years at most (CloudRoute estimate, not an Intercom figure: about $18.2K of plan discount on the direct track or $19.0K on the partner track, computed from the published $903/mo list price, plus about $11.6K of free Fin outcomes and qualifications valued at list price if fully used). Intercom does not publish a total.; difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Runware Grant Program (AI models)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/runware): Up to $30,000; difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Vercel for Startups (Cloud)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/vercel): Up to $30,000; difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Auth0 for Startups (Security)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/auth0): 12 months of B2B Professional free, up to 100k MAU. Auth0 publishes no dollar value for the program. Estimate from list price: B2B Professional at 10k MAU is $2,400/mo ($28,800 billed monthly, $26,400 billed annually), and the 100k MAU tier is not publicly priced, so the real value is higher.; difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Redis for Startups (Data)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/redis): Up to $25,000 (reported by partner perk listings, not published by Redis); difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Resend YC Deal and Partner Deals (Dev tools)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/resend): $25,000 in credits (YC current batch, valid 12 months); difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Runpod Startup Program (GPU compute)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/runpod): Up to $25,000 bonus (on a $50,000 prepay); difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Confluent for Startups (Data)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/confluent): Up to $20,000 in Confluent Cloud credits; difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Neo4j Startup Program (Data)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/neo4j): Up to $16,000; difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Notion for Startups (Business)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/notion): Up to $12,000 (Notion's own figure: Business at $20/member paid annually, 6 months, for 100 employees); difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Algolia Startup Program (Dev tools)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/algolia): $10,000 in credits (12 months); difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [GitHub for Startups (Dev tools)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/github): Up to $10,000; difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Groq for Startups (Groq Startup Program) (AI models)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/groq): $10,000 (program appears closed); difficulty hard; verified 2026-10-09
- [Twilio Startups (Dev tools)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/twilio): Up to $10,000 one-time Twilio credits (Searchlight Track 2 winners only; no standing grant); difficulty hard; verified 2026-10-09
- [ElevenLabs Grants (Startup Grants) (AI models)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/elevenlabs): Up to $5,500+ (33M characters, 12 months); difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [ClickHouse Startup Offer (ClickHouse Cloud Startup Program) (Data)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/clickhouse): Up to $5,000; difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Deel for Startups (Business)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/deel): Up to $5,000 Deel credits (AWS Activate channel; valid 12 months, restricted uses) + founder US payroll and first 5 seats free for life (no dollar cap published); difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [MongoDB for Startups (Data)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/mongodb): Up to $5,000 in Atlas credits (figure cited on Google Cloud's partner page; MongoDB does not publish tier amounts); difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Perplexity for Startups (AI models)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/perplexity): $5,000 API credits + up to 50 Enterprise Pro seats free for 3 months (6 months at the 2025 launch); difficulty hard; verified 2026-10-09
- [Sentry for Startups (Dev tools)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/sentry): Up to $5,000 in credits; difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Stripe Atlas (and Stripe Startups Program) (Business)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/stripe-atlas): $2,500 Stripe credits + $50K+ partner perks (incl. $5,000 AWS Activate); difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Lambda Cloud credits for NVIDIA Inception members (GPU compute)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/lambda): $1,000; difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Vanta for Startups (Security)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/vanta): $1,000 off a new subscription (direct), or 25% off via partner channels (first year confirmed for Mercury and SVB); difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Supabase for Startups (Data)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/supabase): $300 (via AWS Activate or Mercury); larger partner tiers unpublished; difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Atlassian for Startups (Dev tools)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/atlassian): 12 months free, up to 50 seats per core product (dollar value unpublished); difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Carta Launch (Business)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/carta): Free software plan (Carta publishes no dollar value; paid plans are priced per stakeholder with an annual minimum via sales); difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Clerk for Startups (Security)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/clerk): Discount on Clerk Pro (amount not published); difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Cohere Startup Program (AI models)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/cohere): Closed (was 25% off for 1 year); difficulty hard; verified 2026-10-09
- [DigitalOcean Startups (formerly Hatch) (Cloud)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/digitalocean): Not published (award set per partner; Jan 2025 press release said up to $100,000); difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Fireworks for Startups (AI models)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/fireworks-ai): Credits, amount not published (valid 1 year); difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [HubSpot for Startups (Business)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/hubspot): Up to 90% off year one (percentage discount, no dollar cap published); difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Linear for Startups (Dev tools)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/linear): 3 to 6 months of Business plan free (set by your partner); difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Modal for Startups (Modal Startup Credits) (AI models)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/modal): Amount not published (Modal says 'thousands of free GPU credits'; set per applicant); difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [New Relic for Startups (Dev tools)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/new-relic): No dollar figure published. 5 full-platform users + "generous" monthly data ingest, free, plus engineering support. New Relic explicitly says it is "a program, not a pile of credits."; difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [OpenAI for Startups (AI models)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/openai): Amount not published globally (Australia program: up to US$15,000 per OpenAI); difficulty hard; verified 2026-10-09
- [Pinecone for Startups (Data)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/pinecone): Free Standard tier + Pro Support (list about $300/mo; term unpublished) + unpublished credits; difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [PlanetScale for Startups (Data)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/planetscale): No published amount (free migration services; credits unconfirmed); difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [SaladCloud startup credits (Salad Partner Offer on Credit for Startups) (GPU compute)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/saladcloud): Not published by Salad (partner listing says up to $5,000; 2024 SSAP post says up to $10,000); difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [Snowflake for Startups (Data)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/snowflake): Amount not published by Snowflake (VC-partner portal listings cite $20,000 of free usage; Startup Challenge offers investment of up to $500,000 for the winner, not credits); difficulty moderate; verified 2026-10-09
- [WorkOS for Startups (Security)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/workos): No cash credits; AuthKit free up to 1M MAUs (the next 1M MAUs is priced at $2,500/mo on the public rate card); difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09
- [Zendesk for Startups (Business)](https://www.cloudroutehq.com/startup-credits/zendesk): Up to 24 months of Zendesk Suite Professional for up to 50 agents (6 months on the standard track). Zendesk publishes no dollar value; FounderPass lists '$50,000+' without showing a calculation.; difficulty easy; verified 2026-10-09