AI-first startup with a seed round: compute and model credits

Why this order, what to have ready, what lands

1. 01
   

   Amazon Web Services · Cloud

   AWS Activate (Founders, Portfolio, AI credits)

   $200K

   moderateYou apply for Portfolio with an Org ID. The AI tier is by AWS invitation. A matched AWS partner can file POC or IW funding.

   Activate credits now cover third-party models on Bedrock (Claude, Llama, Mistral, Cohere), which makes AWS the one place where a single credit pool pays for both the model and the infrastructure. Portfolio goes to $200,000 via your VC's Org ID; the invite-only AI tier starts at $200,000 and is arranged through an AWS account manager. A matched AWS partner can file POC funding to test a Bedrock workload, or IW funding for new AI work once you are on AWS, when the workload qualifies and AWS approves it. You cannot request either from a web form.

   have ready

   • The Org ID from your VC or accelerator
   • A Paid Tier AWS account with a real Bedrock workload or a POC plan
   • Last round within 12 months, pre-Series B

   expected value

   $100,000 to $200,000; more on the AI tier

   Details →Official page ↗

   an AWS partner can file part of this step

   Activate you apply for yourself (Portfolio needs an Org ID from your investor or accelerator). MAP, POC and IW funding can only be requested by an AWS partner, not by you. $50K to $150K for startups. Depends on the workload; AWS approves. We match you with a vetted partner who can file it, for free.

   Get matched free →
2. 02
   

   Google Cloud · Cloud

   Google for Startups Cloud Program

   $350K

   moderateNo referral code. $350,000 only if Gemini is your product foundation.

   Scale tier for AI startups: $250,000 in Year 1 at 100% of spend, then 20% of spend up to $100,000 in Year 2. The condition is that Gemini is, or will be, the foundation of your primary product, judged case by case. If you are model-agnostic, the standard Scale tier ($200,000 over two years) still applies, and every Scale member gets $10,000 for Claude, Mistral or AI21 on Vertex AI.

   have ready

   • Public proof of the round; stealth teams need the investor to confirm to Google
   • The AI program form, not the standard one, for the $350,000 tier
   • A billing account ID under your company domain

   expected value

   $250,000 in year one if Gemini is core; $100,000 otherwise

   Details →Official page ↗
3. 03
   

   Microsoft · Cloud

   Microsoft for Startups (Azure credits)

   $150K

   moderateInvestor Network referral code for $100,000 and up.

   Azure credits cover Azure OpenAI directly, so this is your GPT budget. $100,000 to $150,000 with an Investor Network code, $5,000 without. Note that Microsoft's credits do not cover Claude or other partner-billed models on Foundry.

   have ready

   • The Investor Network referral code
   • A fresh personal Microsoft account and a real card
   • Legal name and address matching your registration

   expected value

   $100,000 to $150,000 with a code

   Details →Official page ↗
4. 04
   

   Anthropic · AI models

   Claude for Startups

   $100K

   moderate$100,000 only through a partner-network VC. Direct tier is small and over capacity.

   Up to $100,000 in Claude API credits, claimed through a VC in Anthropic's partner network, not through the public form. Direct applicants get $1,000 and a Claude Team year, if capacity reopens. These credits cannot be spent on Bedrock, so you end up with two Claude budgets: Anthropic credits on the first-party API, Activate credits on Bedrock.

   have ready

   • Ask your VC whether they are in Anthropic's partner network
   • A Claude Console account for the company
   • Founded within five years or funded within two

   expected value

   Up to $100,000 via a partner VC

   Details →Official page ↗
5. 05
   

   OpenAI · AI models

   OpenAI for Startups

   Varies

   hardPartner VC referral code required. No public form.

   No public form, no published amount: credits, rate-limit upgrades and solutions-engineer time arrive through a referral code from a partner VC (Thrive, Sequoia, a16z, Kleiner Perkins and Conviction are the named examples). If your investor is not on that list, the open resources are the only route.

   have ready

   • The referral code from your VC
   • Your OpenAI Organization ID
   • A paragraph on your product and planned API use; no deck required

   expected value

   Unpublished; set by your VC

   Details →Official page ↗
6. 06
   

   NVIDIA · GPU compute

   NVIDIA Inception

   $100K

   moderateNo referral. Must be incorporated. DGX credits for "qualified" members only.

   Free membership, any stage. Qualified members get up to $100,000 of DGX Cloud H100 credits plus office hours, and the portal hands out an AWS Activate Org ID (a second Portfolio application if your VC's offer was small) and partner cloud credits from Nebius, Lambda and others. The 2026 backlog is the reason this is filed early.

   have ready

   • Incorporation date, pitch deck, website, developer headcount
   • A product listed in the portal after approval; several benefits require it
   • A VC Alliance referral if you can get one; it fast-tracks review

   expected value

   Up to $100,000 DGX Cloud; an AWS Org ID; partner GPU credits

   Details →Official page ↗
7. 07
   

   Together AI · AI models

   Together AI Startup Accelerator

   $50K

   moderateNo referral. Selection-based, tiered by total raised.

   Serverless inference, fine-tuning and instant GPU clusters, with credits sized by total raised: up to $15,000 under $5M, $30,000 from $5M to $10M, $50,000 above. Plus forward-deployed engineering hours. Credits do not cover reserved GPU clusters.

   have ready

   • Total funding raised (it sets the tier)
   • A Together account with the $15 minimum first purchase
   • What you will run: inference, fine-tuning or clusters

   expected value

   $15,000 to $50,000 by funding band

   Details →Official page ↗
8. 08
   

   Modal (Modal Labs) · AI models

   Modal for Startups (Modal Startup Credits)

   Varies

   moderatePartner VC on the cap table, or more than $1M raised from any fund.

   Serverless GPUs for new-to-Modal startups backed by one of Modal's 40 partner funds or with more than $1M raised. Modal removed the dollar figure in September 2026; the last published cap was $25,000. Credits cover compute only, expire in 12 months and are not reinstated.

   have ready

   • A proof-of-funding link (Crunchbase, press, VC portfolio page)
   • An organization workspace, not a personal one, with a card on file
   • A founder email linked to that workspace

   expected value

   Case by case; last published cap $25,000

   Details →Official page ↗
9. 09
   

   Fireworks AI · AI models

   Fireworks for Startups

   Varies

   moderateVenture-backed with more than $500,000 raised.

   Fireworks also runs a nomination-only funded proof-of-concept track with the AWS Generative AI Innovation Center, which an AWS partner can raise for you. The main program covers open-weight model inference, fine-tuning and speech, with a year of credits for venture-backed startups that raised more than $500,000. Amount not published.

   have ready

   • Proof you are venture-backed above $500,000 and under five years old
   • A Fireworks account for the credits
   • A payment method so inference does not stop when credits end

   expected value

   Unpublished; 12 months of credits

   Details →Official page ↗
10. 10
    

    Render · Cloud

    Render for Startups

    $100K

    moderatePartner link for every tier above $500. AI tier needs $2.5M from an enrolled top-tier VC.

    If you host on Render: the AI tier is $100,000 plus a year of dedicated Slack support, but only for AI-native companies with $2.5M or more from an enrolled top-tier VC. The Scale tier ($10,000 under $1M raised, $25,000 above) and Build tier ($2,500 to $5,000) also need a partner link. Render has no GPUs; this pays for serving, not training.

    have ready

    • Your VC's Render referral link from their perks portal
    • Under four years old, under $50M raised, Series A or earlier
    • A new Render account; existing customers are excluded

    expected value

    $100,000 on the AI tier; $10,000 to $25,000 otherwise

    Details →Official page ↗