Startup programs to choose your AI coding stack
Every programme that gives startups free credits, perks or grants. Everything below helps you choose your AI coding stack, ranked by editor score.
Updated October 2026 · 24 listings
How to choose startup programs to choose your AI coding stack
Check three things before you apply: whether you qualify without a partner code, how long the credits last, and what the paid price is once they run out. Apply with a real company domain and a live landing page; many programmes reject Gmail addresses and empty sites.
Google for Startups Cloud Program 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $2,000 in Google Cloud credits pre-funding, or up to $200,000 ($350,000 for AI-first startups) once VC-funded.
🔥 Up to $2,000 (Start) or up to $200,000 / $350,000 for AI-first startups (Scale) in Google Cloud credits
AWS Activate 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $5,000 in AWS credits if you are self-funded, or up to $200,000 with an Activate Provider Org ID.
🔥 Up to $5,000 (Founders) or up to $200,000 (Portfolio, with Activate Provider Org ID) in AWS creditsGoogle for Startups Cloud Program (AI tier) 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits over two years for VC-funded startups building on Gemini.
🔥 Up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits over 2 years for AI-first startupsMicrosoft for Startups (Azure AI and Foundry) 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $150K in Azure credits (up to $200K via investor partners) usable on Microsoft Foundry models.
🔥 Up to $150K in Azure Startup credits (up to $200K for Investor Network-backed startups)Microsoft for Startups (Azure credits) 🎁 ProgramFree
Azure credits from $200 up to $150,000, with higher tiers unlocked by progress or an Investor Network referral code.
🔥 Up to $150,000 in Azure Startup credits (higher tiers via Investor Network referral code)Claude for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
Claude API credits, higher rate limits, a partner perk stack and office hours for startups building on Claude.
🔥 Up to $100K extra Claude API credits via partner VCs, plus partner perks worth up to $45,000ElevenLabs Startup Grants 🎁 ProgramFree
12 months of the ElevenLabs platform with 33 million characters for voice AI startups under 25 people.
🔥 12 months free with 33M characters (stated value more than $5,500)NVIDIA Inception 🎁 ProgramFree
Free programme with DLI training, cloud credits from NVIDIA and partners, GPU pricing and VC introductions.
Deepgram Startup Program 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $100,000 in Deepgram speech-to-text, text-to-speech and Voice Agent credits over 12 months.
🔥 Up to $100,000 in Deepgram credits over 12 monthsTogether AI Startup Accelerator 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $50K in Together AI platform credits plus forward-deployed engineering hours, tiered by how much you raised.
🔥 Up to $15K / $30K / $50K in platform credits depending on funding raisedNeon / Databricks Startup Program 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $1,000 in Neon credits if self-funded, or up to $200,000 in Neon and Databricks credits if VC-backed.
🔥 Up to $1,000 (self-funded) or up to $200,000 (VC-backed) in Neon and Databricks creditsJetBrains Startup Program 🎁 ProgramFree
50% off JetBrains IDEs, team tools and JetBrains AI for up to 10 licences each, for five years.
🔥 50% off JetBrains IDEs, team tools and JetBrains AI (up to 10 licences each) for five yearsMongoDB for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
MongoDB Atlas credits and Voyage AI tokens in four tiers, from bootstrapped to rapidly scaling startups.
🔥 MongoDB Atlas credits and Voyage AI tokens (amount depends on tier)AssemblyAI Startup Program 🎁 ProgramFree
12 months of recurring free speech-to-text credits and startup pricing for voice and audio products.
🔥 12 months of recurring free credits plus startup pricingPinecone for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
Free Pinecone Standard tier with Pro Support plus usage credits and discounts for early-stage startups.
🔥 Free Standard tier with Pro Support plus usage creditsOpenAI for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
OpenAI API credits, rate limit upgrades and engineer time for startups backed by OpenAI partner VCs.
LangSmith for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
Discounted LangSmith seats for early VC-backed startups, or $10K in credits via LangChain partner VCs.
🔥 $10K in LangSmith credits for 1 year (Scale tier, premier VC partners)Fireworks AI Startup Program 🎁 ProgramFree
Build credits, higher rate limits and applied AI engineers for VC-backed startups on Fireworks inference.
🔥 Fireworks AI Startup Program: build credits plus rate-limit upgrades for venture-backed startups with $500K+ raised, below Series D.Modal for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
One-time serverless GPU credits, engineering support and GTM help for VC-backed AI startups new to Modal.
🔥 Modal for Startups: one-time serverless GPU credits (amount not published) for VC-backed or $1M+ raised teams.GitHub for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
$10,000 in GitHub credits for Enterprise, Copilot, Actions and Advanced Security, through a partner investor.
🔥 $10,000 in GitHub credits for 12 months (via a GitHub for Startups partner)Alibaba Cloud AI Catalyst Program 🎁 ProgramFree
Up to $120,000 in Alibaba Cloud credits and up to 2B free Model Studio tokens for AI-first startups.
🔥 Up to $120,000 in Alibaba Cloud credits and up to 2B Model Studio tokensQdrant for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
20% off Qdrant Cloud for the first year, plus technical advice, co-marketing and partner perks.
🔥 20% off Qdrant Cloud for the first yearClerk for Startups 🎁 ProgramFree
A discount on Clerk Pro authentication features for early-stage startups within a year of launch.
Weaviate Startup Deal 🎁 ProgramFree
Discounted access to Weaviate's managed vector database, redeemed through the Weaviate Console for startups and partner-backed teams.