State of Startup Credits 2026

Google Cloud follows with up to $250,000, while AWS, Databricks, and Neon each provide up to $200,000 through direct applications. Only 1 of the top 15 companies restricts its largest credit behind a membership, referral, or invitation.

1. Cloudflare$350K
2. Brex$350K
3. Google Cloud$250K
4. AWS$200K
5. Databricks$200K
6. Neon$200K
7. Microsoft$150K
8. Huawei Cloud$150K
9. Hanzo$150K
10. Linode$120K
11. OVHcloud US$120K
12. Datadog$100K
13. Deepgram$100K
14. Render$100K
15. Grafana Labs$100K

Through a membershipBy referral or invitationOpen application

Cloudflare

Cloudflare for Startups

Provides $350,000 in credits valid for one year, priority technical support, account manager, and Solutions Architect office hours for startups with $5M+ raised.

$350,000in Cloudflare credits · cost not confirmed

Brex

Brex SaaS and AI Partner Discounts

Access over $350K in discounts and credits on AI and SaaS software through Brex for startups.

At least $350,000in Brex credits · nothing to pay

Google Cloud

Google for Startups Cloud Program

AI-first startups can receive up to $250,000 in Google Cloud credits in year one, then 20% up to another $100,000 in year two.

Up to $250,000in Google Cloud credits · nothing to pay

AWS

AWS Activate

Pre-Series B startups with an AWS Activate Provider Org ID can apply for up to $200,000 in AWS Activate credits.

Up to $200,000in AWS credits · nothing to pay

Databricks

Databricks for Startups Program Credits

Qualifying startups can receive up to $200k in credits for Databricks and Neon to build and scale data and AI strategy.

Up to $200,000in Databricks credits · cost not confirmed

Neon

Databricks Startup Program

Up to $200K in Neon and Databricks credits, onboarding support, feature access, and co-marketing opportunities for VC-backed or accelerator startups.

Up to $200,000in Neon credits · 1 year · nothing to pay

Credits lead the market across 33% of live offers, closely followed by discounts at 29%. Free services lead in 17% of offers, while 19% state no single figure at all.

1. Credit213
2. Discount190
3. No single figure121
4. Free service112
5. Waived fee6
6. Cash back3

Direct applications cover 87% of live offers, whereas only 13% require a membership, referral, or invitation. Larger credits do not require special access: only 7% of offers at $100,000 or more gate entry behind memberships, referrals, or invitations, compared to 17% in the $5,000 to under $25,000 band. Direct dollar credit offers post a median of $10,000, double the $5,000 median found in partner-restricted programs.

Through a membershipBy referral or invitationOpen application

Caps on company age most frequently eliminate startups older than 5 years across 39 offers, followed by 3 years across 33 offers. For funding, 27 offers set the limit at $5,000,000, while 18 cap funding at $10,000,000. Team size restrictions most commonly cut off companies exceeding 50 employees, seen in 27 offers.

Most stated benefits expire quickly: 63% last 1 year, and 21% last 6 months. In return, 53% of offers cost you nothing throughout, while 25% require variable spending, a paid plan, or a commitment.

The median dollar credit in AI and machine learning is $5,000, half the overall startup median of $10,000 and well below Data and analytics at $25,000. Hanzo and Deepgram lead the category with direct application credits of up to $150,000 and $100,000 respectively. Only 1 of the top 15 AI and machine learning companies restricts its offer through a membership, referral, or invitation.

1. Hanzo$150K
2. Deepgram$100K
3. Labelbees$50K
4. Together AI$50K
5. Speechmatics$50K
6. Runware$30K
7. Resemble AI$30K
8. Runpod$25K
9. Baseten$25K
10. LegionEdge$25K
11. Cerebras$22.5K
12. Vectorize$15K
13. LangChain$10K
14. smallest.ai$10K
15. Novita AI$10K

Through a membershipBy referral or invitationOpen application

Hanzo

Up to $150,000 in credits for venture-backed startups

Venture-backed startups with tier-1 VC backing get up to $150,000 in credits across Hanzo AI foundation models, inference, and cloud infrastructure.

Up to $150,000in Hanzo credits · nothing to pay

Deepgram

Deepgram AI Startup Program

Eligible early-stage startups and AI builders can receive up to $100,000 in API credits over 12 months for Deepgram's STT, TTS, and Voice Agent capabilities, alongside community access and networking.

Up to $100,000in Deepgram credits · cost not confirmed

Labelbees

Labelbees for Startups

Approved incorporated teams running production Physical AI systems can receive up to $50,000 in platform credits with volume pricing, continuous evaluation, and strategic guidance.

Up to $50,000in Labelbees credits · cost varies

Together AI

Together AI Startup Accelerator

Grow tier startups with over $10M raised receive up to $50K in free platform credits and 10 hours of forward-deployed engineering time.

Up to $50,000in Together AI credits · nothing to pay

Speechmatics

Speechmatics Startup Program

Eligible early-stage startups receive up to $50,000 in Speechmatics usage credits along with technical support and co-marketing opportunities.

Up to $50,000in Speechmatics credits · nothing to pay

Runware

Runware Grant Program

Eligible early-stage startups can receive up to $30,000 in Runware API credits for 12 months, plus direct access to the Runware team and builder community.

Up to $30,000in Runware credits · nothing to pay