Direct AI credits, ranked
| Program | Credit | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot for Startups | $10,000 | Copilot Business — Claude, GPT-4, Gemini in your editor |
| OpenAI Startup Program | $2,500+ | OpenAI API — GPT-4, o1, Realtime, embeddings |
| Vercel AI Gateway | $2,400 | Unified API for 100+ models (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI) |
| Direct AI credits subtotal | $14,900+ | |
| AWS Activate (Bedrock) | $100,000 | AWS credits applied to Bedrock — Claude, Llama, Mistral managed |
| Google for Startups (Vertex AI) | $200,000 | GCP credits applied to Vertex AI, Gemini API |
| Vultr (GPU) | $25,000 | Self-hosted inference on H100/A100 GPUs |
Which to apply for
If you're building an AI product: OpenAI + Vercel AI Gateway + GCP (Vertex AI) + AWS (Bedrock). Total ~$305k of usable AI inference credit.
If you're using AI to ship faster (not building it): GitHub Copilot for Startups. $10k pays for ~50 seats × 12 months of Copilot Business — enough for a 50-person team.
If you're self-hosting open-source models: Vultr ($25k GPU credits) + DigitalOcean ($100k for orchestration). Skip OpenAI; allocate AWS/GCP credit to Bedrock/Vertex for fallback.
How to actually burn $300k of AI credits
The constraint is rarely credit availability — it's being able to spend it before expiry. Three patterns work:
- Batch inference for cheap models. Burn AWS/GCP credits via batch APIs (50% cheaper) on retroactive analysis tasks.
- Ship a free tier. A free product tier with rate limits is the fastest way to convert idle credits into pipeline.
- Pre-train evals. If you're fine-tuning, run extensive eval sweeps against frontier models early — the credit will exist; the engineering time to spend it later won't.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best AI credit program for startups?
GitHub Copilot for Startups at $10,000 is the largest direct AI credit. For LLM inference, AWS Activate ($100k applicable to Bedrock) and Google for Startups Cloud ($200k applicable to Vertex AI) far exceed any pure-AI program.
How do I get free OpenAI credits for my startup?
Apply to the OpenAI Startup Program ($2,500+ in API credits plus engineering access). It's typically admitted in cohorts via approved accelerators and venture funds. Stack with Vercel AI Gateway ($2,400) for additional OpenAI access.
Can I use AWS or GCP credits for AI inference?
Yes. AWS Activate credits apply to Bedrock (Claude, Llama, Mistral) and SageMaker. GCP credits apply to Vertex AI and Gemini API. Combined, that's up to $300k of credit applicable to managed AI inference.
What's the cheapest GPU credit for self-hosted AI?
Vultr Startup Program at $25,000 — bare-metal H100/A100 GPUs at roughly 30% below hyperscaler list price. Best for teams self-hosting open-source models like Llama or Mistral.