Resources // Cloud Providers
AWS Startup credits
- High-value
The offer
Founders (self-funded)
- $1,000 in AWS Activate Credits to start; select participants may qualify for up to $5,000
- Developer support credits, plus technical guidance, training, partner offers
Portfolio (provider-backed, pre-Series B)
- Up to $100,000-$200,000 in AWS Activate Credits (current ceiling is $200,000)
- Developer support credits and the same perks
AWS Credits for AI Startups (invite-only, post-Portfolio)
- $200,000+ via your AWS account manager
Who qualifies
Founders: pre-Series B, founded in the last 10 years, AWS account on a Paid Tier plan, not affiliated with a VC/accelerator, new to Activate credits (or requesting more than received). Apply with an AWS Builder ID. Portfolio: pre-Series B, founded in the last 10 years, and an Organization ID (Org ID) from an approved Activate Provider (accelerator, angel, or VC). A pitch deck is not the gate, the provider Org ID is. Both: must not have previously received equivalent credits. Decision in ~5-10 business days.
Community Insights
AWS Activate is the most generous and best-trodden cloud-credit path: bootstrapped founders routinely report $1,000-$5,000 with just a website, business email and a product in progress (approved in 2-3 days, valid ~2 years), while accelerator/provider-backed startups reach the $100k-$200k Portfolio tier. The universal warning: credits are “training wheels, not free money.” AWS billing is opaque and costs balloon fast once credits run out, so the discipline is to keep burn low and extend runway, not build a money-pit you can’t afford the day credits expire. Note headline numbers moved up: Portfolio is now up to $200,000 and there’s a new invite-only AI-startups tier.
Best Practices (from community tips)
- Come prepared to any AWS call. A pitch deck, growth plan, a 6-month usage forecast, and a credible “we’ll commit to AWS over Azure” story open higher tiers.
- Mention GPU/AI workloads. Expensive compute justifies larger grants; cold-emailing/LinkedIn-ing reps genuinely works.
- Treat credits as runway, not free money. Reduce monthly burn and review AWS cost regularly (biweekly) so the post-credit bill doesn’t sink you.
- Stack related offers (aws.amazon.com/startups/offers) and route through an accelerator or NVIDIA Inception for the big Portfolio tiers.