Overview

Credit programs are not prizes for a deck. Official pages ask for a company, a website or profile, and (often) funding or a provider ID. JoinAI does not run these programs.

Claude for Startups

Source: claude.com/programs/startups. Any early-stage founder can join the program. Credits and extras require, on Anthropic’s FAQ: equity funding from an institutional investor; founded within the last four years; not previously received Anthropic startup credits. You need a Claude Console account (API console, not claude.ai), a company email, a website, and a short description. Credits apply to the first-party Claude API via Console only. They cannot be used on AWS Bedrock or Google Vertex AI. Anthropic does not publish a dollar amount on this page. Do not copy aggregator “$25k / $100k” figures into an application.

OpenAI

Source: openai.com/startups. OpenAI’s published path for API credits is: ask your VC for a unique referral code, then apply with product description, company + business email, basic funding details, and org ID. There is no public self-serve dollar tier on that page.

AWS Activate

Source: aws.amazon.com/startups/credits. Eligibility: pre-Series B, founded in the last 10 years, AWS account on Paid Tier. Activate Founders (self-funded) starts at $1,000; some participants up to $5,000. Activate Portfolio: up to $200,000 with an Activate Provider Org ID. AWS states a 5–10 business day response. Activate credits can be used on Bedrock models — that is not the same bucket as Claude Console startup credits.

Google for Startups Cloud

Source: startup.google.com/cloud. Start (not equity-backed): up to $2,000 USD over a year. Scale (equity-backed): year 1 up to $100,000 Google Cloud + Firebase; year 2 20% coverage up to another $100,000. AI-first Scale: up to $350,000 over two years.

Checklist

  • Public URL; company email; official form opened the day you apply
  • Do not paste a dollar figure Anthropic or OpenAI did not publish
  • Bedrock ≠ Claude Console

Independent community. Not an official Anthropic, Y Combinator, Techstars, Antler, OpenAI, AWS, or Google product. Program names belong to their owners. Listings are informational, not endorsements. Educational only — not legal, tax, or investment advice. Confirm the live form. Contact: hi@joinai.me.