Cohere's startup program is closed as of our last check; it used to be 25% off for 12 months.
No equity, no fees. No referral needed; apply directly.
Stage fit: Bootstrapped to Series B. Difficulty: hard.
Cohere at a glance
- Max value
- Closed (was 25% off for 1 year)
- Stage fit
- Bootstrapped to Series B
- Takes equity
- No
- Who files it
- Program closed
- Geography
- Global (Cohere's launch post describes helping startups 'across the globe'; no country restrictions were published)
- Referral needed
- No
- Difficulty
- Hard
- Review time
- Not published
- Credits expire
- Discount runs for one year ('an entire year' per Cohere's post); start-date rules are not published.
What Cohere actually gives you
- Cohere Startup Program (2024 cohort, now closed)25% discount on the AI models on Cohere's platform for one year, plus access to Cohere technical experts, logo and use-case showcase on cohere.com, and joint webinars and co-marketing opportunitiesEarly-stage startups with Series B funding or below, using AI and building on Cohere's technology
Who qualifies
You likely qualify if
- Company has raised Series B or less (bootstrapped, pre-seed, seed, Series A, or Series B)
- Company is an early-stage startup, not an established enterprise
- Company is working on AI applications or products where Cohere's technology could help (Cohere's team reviewed each application to decide fit)
- Cohere states 'Applications are now closed for 2024' and has not announced any later window on cohere.com
You won't qualify if
- Any company right now: Cohere's June 6, 2024 post states 'Applications are now closed for 2024', the program URLs redirect to the homepage, and no later window has been announced
- Companies that have raised Series C or later
- Established enterprises rather than early-stage startups
- Academic, civic, or public-interest research projects (these go to the separate Cohere Labs Catalyst Grants track, which gives API access for public-benefit or open-science research, not to startups)
Geography. Global (Cohere's launch post describes helping startups 'across the globe'; no country restrictions were published)
How the application worked
- 01Check https://cohere.com/startup-program for a reopened application page. As of 2026-10-09 it returns a 302 redirect to the Cohere homepage, meaning no form is live.
- 02If a form reappears, submit the application with your company stage (must be Series B or below) and a description of what you are building with Cohere's technology.
- 03Cohere's post says its team reviews each application to decide if the program is the right fit, then contacts qualified companies with next steps. No review timeline was published.
- 04If accepted, the 25% discount runs for one year; Cohere has not published how the start date is set.
- 05While the program is closed: for prototyping, create a free Cohere account and use a free Trial API key (free but limited, 1,000 API calls per month with per-endpoint rate limits). For paid usage, Cohere sells production keys, or you can spend AWS Activate credits on Cohere models in Amazon Bedrock.
Review time: Not published. Cohere said its team reviews each application and contacts qualified companies. Any day-count figure on third-party sites is not from Cohere..
What changed in 2025 and 2026
Cohere's launch post (June 6, 2024) carries the note 'Applications are now closed for 2024.' Verified 2026-10-09: cohere.com/startup-program and cohere.com/startup-program-application both return a 302 (temporary) redirect to the cohere.com homepage, and cohere.com/startups returns 404. Perkstack re-checked on Aug 5, 2026 and marked the program closed, and fin.ai (last verified September 2026) says the offer appears withdrawn. Some other aggregators still list it as active and appear stale. No 2025 or 2026 reopening has been announced on cohere.com. The Cohere pricing page does not describe any startup program (it only lists 'Simple startup and self-serve model access' as a Model Vault bullet).
Cohere credits and your AWS bill
Cohere's models on Amazon Bedrock include Command R+, Command R, Embed 4, Embed 3 Multilingual, Embed 3 English and Rerank 3.5. AWS's startup landing page states Activate Credits can be used for third-party Bedrock models from providers including Cohere. With Cohere's own program closed, AWS Activate is the practical way to fund Cohere usage, billed through your AWS account. AWS's credits page lists Activate Portfolio at up to $200,000 (Pre-Series B, needs an Org ID from an Activate Provider) and Activate Founders at up to $5,000, while an older AWS landing page still says up to $100,000, so confirm the current amount at application time.
Cohere startup credits, answered
How much does Cohere give startups?
Cohere's startup program is closed as of our last check; it used to be 25% off for 12 months. Single tier: 25% discount on the AI models on Cohere's platform for one year, plus access to Cohere technical experts, logo and use-case showcase on cohere.com, and joint webinars and co-marketing opportunities.
Does Cohere take equity?
No. Cohere Startup Program is a credits program, not an investment; you keep 100% of your company. No referral needed; apply directly.
Who qualifies for Cohere Startup Program?
Stage fit: Bootstrapped to Series B. You usually qualify if: company has raised Series B or less (bootstrapped, pre-seed, seed, Series A, or Series B); company is an early-stage startup, not an established enterprise; company is working on AI applications or products where Cohere's technology could help (Cohere's team reviewed each application to decide fit). You will not qualify if: any company right now: Cohere's June 6, 2024 post states 'Applications are now closed for 2024', the program URLs redirect to the homepage, and no later window has been announced; companies that have raised Series C or later.
How long does Cohere take to approve credits?
Not published. Cohere said its team reviews each application and contacts qualified companies. Any day-count figure on third-party sites is not from Cohere. Difficulty: hard, gated by an investor, an invitation or a closed window.
When do Cohere credits expire?
Discount runs for one year ('an entire year' per Cohere's post); start-date rules are not published. No application deadline was published when open; the 2024 window is now closed and no reopening has been announced.
Can I combine Cohere credits with AWS credits?
Cohere's models on Amazon Bedrock include Command R+, Command R, Embed 4, Embed 3 Multilingual, Embed 3 English and Rerank 3.5. AWS's startup landing page states Activate Credits can be used for third-party Bedrock models from providers including Cohere. On AWS, CloudRoute matches you for free with a vetted partner who can file MAP, POC or IW funding when the workload qualifies and AWS approves it. The Cohere application you submit yourself.
