What DigitalOcean offers startups
DigitalOcean Hatch is the company's flagship startup program, designed for founders who want predictable cloud pricing without the complexity of hyperscaler billing. Approved startups receive up to $100,000 in DigitalOcean credits usable across Droplets, Kubernetes, App Platform, Spaces object storage, managed databases, and GPU Droplets for AI workloads.
DigitalOcean's appeal is simplicity: flat-rate pricing, a clean dashboard, and predictable bills — a sharp contrast to AWS and GCP at the seed stage. For startups building SaaS, internal tools, or AI inference workloads on a budget, Hatch is one of the most accessible programs in the industry.
Everything in the program
- Up to $100,000 in DigitalOcean credits, usable over 12 months
- Access to all DigitalOcean services: Droplets, Kubernetes, App Platform, managed Postgres/MySQL/Redis, Spaces, and GPU Droplets
- Dedicated technical guidance from DigitalOcean solutions engineers
- Priority support during your build phase
- 1:1 mentorship sessions and access to the Hatch founder community
- Co-marketing opportunities for select startups
Who qualifies
- Startup must be less than 5 years old
- Less than $5M in total funding raised
- Not currently a paying DigitalOcean customer
- Building a real product (no agencies, consultancies, or resellers)
- Backed by an approved accelerator, incubator, or VC partner (preferred but not always required)
The application path
- Visit the DigitalOcean Hatch landing page and click "Apply now"
- Complete the application: company description, product details, team size, and funding stage
- If applying through a partner accelerator, include your partner code
- DigitalOcean reviews applications on a rolling basis — most decisions arrive within 1–2 weeks
- On approval, credits are applied to your billing account and you can begin deploying immediately
Maximize your approval odds
- Apply through an accredited partner (Y Combinator, Techstars, 500, etc.) for higher approval odds
- Don't activate Hatch credits until you're ready to scale — the 12-month clock starts on approval
- Combine DigitalOcean App Platform with managed databases to minimize ops overhead while burning credits productively
- GPU Droplets are now available — useful if you need to fine-tune models without committing to AWS or GCP
Founders ask before applying
How long do DigitalOcean Hatch credits last?
Credits are valid for 12 months from the date of approval and cannot be extended.
Can I use Hatch credits for GPU Droplets?
Yes — DigitalOcean GPU Droplets (NVIDIA H100 and similar) are eligible. This makes Hatch attractive for AI startups doing inference or fine-tuning.
Do I need to be venture-backed to qualify?
No, but applying through an approved partner accelerator or VC significantly improves your approval odds.
Can existing DigitalOcean customers apply?
No. Hatch is only available to startups that are not currently paying DigitalOcean customers.