Which startup credits can I get before raising money?

Programs open without institutional funding include AWS Activate Founders (up to $5,000), Google for Startups Cloud Start (up to $2,000), Microsoft for Startups, NVIDIA Inception, PostHog ($50,000), Sentry (up to $5,000), Retool, Mixpanel, Amplitude and Intercom.

Does a SAFE count as funding for Google Cloud credits?

Google for Startups Cloud counts VC and institutional funding, including a SAFE from a fund, within the program time windows. Angel, friends and family, crowdfunding and government grant funding do not qualify for the Scale and AI tiers.

Can claiming small credits now block bigger credits later?

Yes, in some programs. Cloudflare accepts first-time applicants only, and Google Scale requires no more than $5,000 in prior Google Cloud credits. Read each program’s rules before claiming a small tier.

How to Get Startup Credits as an Israeli Startup: AWS, Google Cloud, AI and More, Velo Labs

The short answer: claim the small, open programs while you build, and save the large cloud packages for when you have an institutional round or a partner referral. The biggest offers, such as AWS Activate Portfolio (up to $200,000) and the Google for Startups Cloud Scale and AI tiers (up to $200,000 and $350,000), depend on who invested in you. Ask your investors which programs they belong to before you apply anywhere, and check whether claiming a small tier now blocks a larger one later. The full list is in our startup credits directory.

Before you raise: what is open to you

Without institutional funding you can still cover most of the early stack. These programs are open to any startup that meets basic criteria such as company age or amount raised:

Cloud.AWS Activate Founders offers up to $5,000 for self-funded startups, Google for Startups Cloud Start up to $2,000 for companies under 24 months old with a working MVP, and Microsoft for Startups is open to sign up with no funding required.
AI.NVIDIA Inception is free to join for any incorporated company with a developer and a website. Pinecone for Startups covers Series A or earlier.
Product and analytics.PostHog offers $50,000 in credits and Sentry up to $5,000, both for companies under two years old that raised less than $5 million. Mixpanel and Amplitude each offer a free year.
Internal tools and support.Retool discounts the first year fully, and Intercom offers 93% off in year one for teams under 15 people.

After a VC round: what opens up

An institutional round changes what you can ask for. Google for Startups Cloud counts VC and institutional money, including a SAFE from a fund: pre-seed or seed within the last five years, or a Series A within the last 12 months. The Scale tier offers up to $200,000 over two years, and the AI tier up to $350,000 for startups building on Gemini. Angel money, friends and family, crowdfunding and government grants, including Innovation Authority grants, do not count for these tiers.

Read the structure before you plan around the headline number. In the Scale tier, Google covers usage fully up to $100,000 in the first year, and 20% of usage up to another $100,000 in the second. The AI tier credits cover Google services, and third-party models are not covered.

A round also opens Atlassian, Auth0 and HubSpot, which ask for VC funding or a partner affiliation.

Ask your investors these questions

Many top tiers work only through a partner organization. Before you apply, ask each investor and accelerator:

Are you an AWS Activate Provider?If so, they can give you an Org ID for AWS Activate Portfolio, worth up to $200,000.
Do you have a Microsoft for Startups referral code?The higher Microsoft amounts, up to $150,000, are unlocked with an investor referral.
Are you a Cloudflare affiliated partner?Cloudflare's $100,000 and $350,000 tiers require funding from an affiliated partner.
Are you in the GitHub, Datadog or Linear partner programs?GitHub ($10,000), Datadog (up to $100,000) and Linear accept startups only through partners.
Are you an OpenAI or Anthropic partner fund?OpenAI for Startups needs a referral code from a partner VC, and Anthropic allocates up to $100,000 through partner funds.

The answers are also a small signal about an investor's platform. A fund that belongs to several of these programs can save a portfolio company real money in its first two years.

Rules that cost founders the big packages

Some programs accept one application per company.Cloudflare is open to first-time applicants only, so claiming the $10,000 tier early can block a larger tier after your round. Check the rules before you claim a small tier.
Prior credits can disqualify you.Google's Scale tier requires no more than $5,000 in prior Google Cloud credits. Several programs, including Sentry, PostHog and Auth0, accept only new customers.
Credits expire.Most last 12 months; Google's run over two years. Apply when you will use them.
The bill arrives after the credits end.Linear and others renew at the standard price after the free period. Plan your costs for month 13.
Choose your cloud by architecture.Running production on two or three clouds to use every credit splits your engineering time. Pick the primary cloud for technical reasons, then claim its program.

The Israeli specifics

We found no Israel-only credit program from the major cloud vendors, so Israeli startups apply to the global programs. Three local points matter. Innovation Authority grants do not count as funding for Google's large tiers. Perks from Stripe Atlas, Mercury and Brex generally require a US entity, which is one more consideration in a Delaware flip. And the Google for Startups Accelerator: Europe and Israel is one of the few programs that names Israel as an eligible headquarters; its 2026 cycle closed in June.

Credits lower your burn. They do not replace a round. For non-dilutive money from the state, see our guide to Innovation Authority grants, and for the round itself, our pre-seed guide.

How to get startup credits as an Israeli startup