Oracle offers up to $100,000 (rules); headline offer up to $60,000.
No equity, no fees. No referral needed; apply directly.
Stage fit: Startups with a product in market and paying customers. Oracle publishes no stage band. Difficulty: moderate.
Oracle at a glance
- Max value
- Up to $100,000 (rules); headline offer up to $60,000
- Stage fit
- Startups with a product in market and paying customers. Oracle publishes no stage band
- Takes equity
- No
- Who files it
- You (no code needed)
- Geography
- Brazil, Argentina and Colombia at launch (23 June 2026).
- Referral needed
- No
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Review time
- Not published
- Credits expire
- Credits must be used within a window Oracle sets of 3 to 12 months from the date they become available.
What Oracle actually gives you
- OCI cloud creditsUS$5,000 to US$100,000 in OCI universal credits per the program rules (sections 2 and 8); Oracle's 23 June 2026 launch announcement says "up to US$60,000"Startups Oracle selects after review. The amount is set at Oracle's sole discretion based on technical fit, product maturity, growth potential and credit availability.
- Assessment funding (alternative to credits)Up to US$60,000 in funding for technical and business evaluations on OCI. Mentioned only in the launch announcement, as an 'or' alternative to credits; the rules PDF does not mention it.Selected startups that need structured infrastructure assessments instead of credits, subject to eligibility and program terms
- Ecosystem benefits (not guaranteed)Hands-on OCI engineering support, Oracle Marketplace listing (subject to Marketplace requirements), Oracle-led go-to-market activities, matchmaking with Oracle customers (the announcement says at certain eOPN levels), pitch days, VC introductions, PR, mentoringSelected participants at Oracle's discretion. The rules say the list is illustrative and not a commitment to any participant.
- Oracle Cloud Free Tier (not a startup program)US$300 trial credit valid for 30 days, plus Always Free services with no time limitAnyone, one Free Trial or Always Free account per person. Oracle's page says the US$300 credit is available in select countries. Oracle's own startup page now points founders to Free Tier and the Developer Center.
Who qualifies
You likely qualify if
- Legally registered technology startup building a software, data or AI product or platform with scalable cloud usage (rules section 3.1; program page)
- Product already validated in the market and with customers (program page)
- Workloads compatible with OCI, and a commitment to build or migrate them on OCI (program page; rules section 3.2)
- No active commercial relationship with OCI when you apply, and not an existing OCI customer (program page; rules section 3.3). Oracle does not say whether a Free Tier account counts, so confirm with Oracle before creating or paying for OCI resources.
- Designed for venture-backed, high-growth startups (launch announcement). VC funding is not a stated hard requirement in the rules or program page; the form asks for your last funding round (options run from bootstrapped to Series B+) and last-year revenue.
- Based in Brazil, Argentina or Colombia: the announcement says the offer is initially available to qualified startups in those three countries, with expansion across Latin America planned. The rules and form state no country restriction (the form's country menu lists every country), so eligibility elsewhere is unconfirmed. Ask Oracle at startupgrowthengine_mb@oracle.com.
- Able to enroll in an eligible Oracle PartnerNetwork (eOPN) level. The announcement says benefits follow enrollment, but Oracle does not publish which level qualifies. Level 0 costs US$500 per year but, per Oracle's partner page, covers Marketplace listing only; Level 1 costs US$5,000 per year. Oracle also says OPN is geared to companies at least 6 months old with at least 5 employees, not sole proprietorships.
- Able to pass Oracle due diligence: legal entity registration, ownership and cap table, jurisdiction of incorporation, sanctions and politically-exposed-person screening (rules section 10)
- Submit complete and accurate information in the application form (rules section 3.2)
You won't qualify if
- Existing OCI customers or any startup with an active commercial OCI relationship when applying
- Public entities (government-owned, as defined by local law and Oracle policy)
- Startups with unpaid debts or a history of default with Oracle (may be excluded after internal review)
- Startups that present regulatory, financial-crime or reputational risk
- Idea-stage companies without a validated product and customers
- Companies under 6 months old, with fewer than 5 employees, or sole proprietorships, which Oracle says OPN is not set up for (this applies because Growth Engine runs through eOPN)
- Using credits to resell cloud services, mine cryptocurrency, run illegal or fraudulent activity, or anything outside the Oracle Cloud Services Agreement acceptable-use terms
- Startups outside Brazil, Argentina and Colombia are not covered by the announced launch, and there is no published Oracle startup-credit equivalent for the US, Europe, Middle East, Africa or Asia-Pacific. The rules themselves state no country limit, so this is a launch scope, not a written exclusion.
- Payment intermediaries, crypto-asset platforms, online betting or gaming, prediction markets and digital exchanges face additional due diligence (extra scrutiny, not an automatic exclusion)
Geography. Brazil, Argentina and Colombia at launch (23 June 2026). Oracle says it plans to expand across Latin America but has published no dates or extra countries (none found as of 9 October 2026). The rules and application form state no country restriction, so applicants elsewhere are unconfirmed. No Oracle startup-credit program is published for other regions: oracle.com/startup/ and its US, UK, India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Brazil variants all redirect to generic cloud pages, and the US-locale Growth Engine URL returns 404.
How to apply to Oracle Startup Growth Engine
- 01Check fit: you are in Brazil, Argentina or Colombia (or have confirmed eligibility with Oracle), have a validated product with customers, workloads that can run on OCI, and no active commercial relationship with OCI.
- 02Open the official registration form linked from the Oracle Startup Growth Engine page (go.oracle.com/LP=152504). It takes about 10 minutes in Spanish or Portuguese. Have ready your legal and tax data, employee, customer and 12-month revenue figures, cloud and AI spend estimates, any active credits, a founder LinkedIn profile, and partner and beneficial-owner details. Submitting the form accepts the program rules (reglamento) and Oracle's privacy policy.
- 03Wait for Oracle's review: the confirmation page says Oracle specialists will evaluate whether your company fits the criteria and will contact you at the registered email. No timeline is published, and Oracle may reject applications without giving a reason.
- 04Complete due diligence if asked: company registration, cap table and shareholding, jurisdiction of incorporation, and compliance screening. Refusing makes you ineligible.
- 05Enroll in an eligible Oracle PartnerNetwork (eOPN) level. Oracle's announcement says benefits follow enrollment but does not name the qualifying level; ask Oracle which level applies before paying (Level 0 is US$500 per year, Level 1 is US$5,000 per year).
- 06Accept the Oracle Cloud Services Agreement (and Oracle AI Terms if you use AI services), then use the credits within the 3 to 12 month window Oracle assigns.
Review time: Not published. After you submit the form, Oracle says its specialists will assess fit and reply by email; no decision window is stated, and the rules let Oracle reject applications without giving a reason.. Apply at go.oracle.com/LP=152504?elqCampaignId=655956.
What changed in 2025 and 2026
23 June 2026: Oracle launched Oracle Startup Growth Engine as a component of the enhanced Oracle PartnerNetwork (eOPN), initially for Brazil, Argentina and Colombia, offering up to US$60,000 in OCI credits per the announcement (US$5,000 to US$100,000 per the rules PDF). September 2026: press coverage of ANDICOM 2026 (1 to 4 September, Cartagena) reports a joint Oracle and Bogota Chamber of Commerce (CCB) call that would select 10 Colombian startups for up to US$50,000 in OCI credits, open 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027 and limited to startups in CCB programs; I found no official Oracle or CCB page for it, so treat it as unconfirmed. The rules PDF carries no date or version, and clause 16 lets Oracle change it without notice. The older global "Oracle for Startups" program is not a 2025 or 2026 change: the Wayback index shows oracle.com/startup/ last captured as a live page on 13 August 2022 and only as a redirect from 18 August 2022. Oracle has published no sunset notice. Third-party sources describe the old offer as $500 starter credits plus a 70% discount for two years, but those figures are not on any current official Oracle page and should be treated as historical and unverified.
Hold these alongside Oracle
Oracle credits and your AWS bill
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure is a competing cloud: Growth Engine credits are for OCI use only and cannot be applied to AWS or Amazon Bedrock. Nothing in the rules stops a startup from also holding AWS Activate credits (the form even asks about your active credits from other providers), but the Oracle credits only lower your bill if you run or migrate those workloads on OCI, and existing OCI customers are excluded.
Oracle startup credits, answered
How much does Oracle give startups?
Oracle offers up to $100,000 (rules); headline offer up to $60,000. There are 4 tiers: OCI cloud credits: US$5,000 to US$100,000 in OCI universal credits per the program rules (sections 2 and 8); Assessment funding (alternative to credits): Up to US$60,000 in funding for technical and business evaluations on OCI; Ecosystem benefits (not guaranteed): Hands-on OCI engineering support, Oracle Marketplace listing (subject to Marketplace requirements), Oracle-led go-to-market activities, matchmaking with Oracle customers (the announcement says at certain eOPN levels), pitch days, VC introductions, PR, mentoring; Oracle Cloud Free Tier (not a startup program): US$300 trial credit valid for 30 days, plus Always Free services with no time limit.
Does Oracle take equity?
No. Oracle Startup Growth Engine is a credits program, not an investment; you keep 100% of your company. No referral needed; apply directly.
Who qualifies for Oracle Startup Growth Engine?
Stage fit: Startups with a product in market and paying customers. Oracle publishes no stage band; the form's last-round menu runs from bootstrapped and pre-seed through seed, Series A and Series B+, although the announcement targets venture-backed companies. You usually qualify if: legally registered technology startup building a software, data or AI product or platform with scalable cloud usage (rules section 3.1; program page); product already validated in the market and with customers (program page); workloads compatible with OCI, and a commitment to build or migrate them on OCI (program page; rules section 3.2). You will not qualify if: existing OCI customers or any startup with an active commercial OCI relationship when applying; public entities (government-owned, as defined by local law and Oracle policy).
How long does Oracle take to approve credits?
Not published. After you submit the form, Oracle says its specialists will assess fit and reply by email; no decision window is stated, and the rules let Oracle reject applications without giving a reason. Difficulty: moderate, a real application and usually some back and forth.
When do Oracle credits expire?
Credits must be used within a window Oracle sets of 3 to 12 months from the date they become available. Usage above the credit amount or after the window is billed at OCI list prices plus taxes unless you sign a separate commercial contract.
Can I combine Oracle credits with AWS credits?
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure is a competing cloud: Growth Engine credits are for OCI use only and cannot be applied to AWS or Amazon Bedrock. Nothing in the rules stops a startup from also holding AWS Activate credits (the form even asks about your active credits from other providers), but the Oracle credits only lower your bill if you run or migrate those workloads on OCI, and existing OCI customers are excluded. 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 Oracle application you submit yourself.
