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Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services

AWS Activate

Amazon's flagship program offering up to $100K AWS credits (or $300K for frontier AI) to pre–Series B startups.

Cloud InfrastructureNo referral needed2–10 day reviewEasy to applyWidely used
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In a sentence

AWS Activate offers Up to $100,000 ($300,000 for AI) to bootstrapped, pre-seed, seed startups, no VC referral required. Review takes 2–10 business days.

Max value
Up to $100,000 ($300,000 for AI)
Credits valid
24 months
Regions
Global
Last verified
Apr 2026

About

AWS Activate has deployed over $8B in credits to 350,000+ startups since 2013. It splits into three main paths: the Founders tier (self-serve, bootstrapped, up to $1,000 in credits), the Portfolio tier (up to $100,000 via AWS Activate Provider referral), and a 2026 AI tier offering up to $300,000 for frontier AI startups building foundation models. Credits cover 200+ AWS services including EC2, Lambda, S3, RDS, Bedrock (Claude, Mistral, Llama), and SageMaker.

The Activate Exclusive Offers marketplace unlocks 80+ partner perks worth up to $800,000 (Brex, Slack, HubSpot, Notion, and more).

Tiers

Activate Founders
Up to $1,000 + $350 Developer Support credits
  • Self-funded / bootstrapped
  • <10 years old
  • Functioning website
  • Active AWS account
  • No prior Activate credits
How to qualify: Apply directly with a company email and business details.
Activate Portfolio
Up to $100,000 in credits
  • Pre-Series B
  • <10 years old
  • Affiliated with an AWS Activate Provider (VC, accelerator, incubator)
  • Most recent funding round within 12 months
How to qualify: Obtain the confidential Organization ID from your VC, accelerator, or incubator and enter it during application.
AI Tier (2026)
Up to $300,000 in credits
  • Frontier AI startups building foundation models (not wrappers)
  • Heavy GPU need (P5/G5 clusters)
  • Typically requires top-tier VC nomination
How to qualify: Nomination from a top-tier VC partner; sales-led qualification.

Eligibility

✓ You qualify if
  • Pre-Series B
  • Company founded within last 10 years
  • Functioning company website (not thin or inactive)
  • AWS account on paid tier plan
  • Verified business email domain (not Gmail/Outlook)
✗ You don't qualify if
  • Series B+ funding
  • Company older than 10 years
  • Previously received equal or greater Activate credits
  • Consultancies, dev shops, agencies
  • Crypto-mining / bitcoin operations

How to apply

  1. 1
    Create AWS Builder ID
    Create a Builder ID or link an existing AWS account.
  2. 2
    Open the Activate portal
    Go to the Activate landing page.
    aws.amazon.com/activate/activate-landing ↗
  3. 3
    Complete Activate member profile
    Fill out company, product and team info.
  4. 4
    Choose a package
    Founders (self-serve) or Portfolio (provider-referred).
  5. 5
    Enter Organization ID (Portfolio only)
    Get the confidential Org ID from your VC/accelerator, it is not a public coupon.
  6. 6
    Submit
    Include company info, product details and funding status.
  7. 7
    Wait for decision
    Founders: 2–7 days. Portfolio: 5–10 days.

What else you get

  • Access to Activate Exclusive Offers (80+ partner perks worth up to $800K)
  • Developer Support credits
  • AWS training and certification resources
  • Bedrock access to Claude, Mistral, Llama and other models

What credits cover (and don't)

✓ Covered
  • EC2, Lambda, S3, RDS, DynamoDB
  • Amazon Bedrock (Claude, Mistral, Llama)
  • SageMaker
  • Eligible AWS Support Plans
  • 200+ AWS services
✗ Not covered
  • Most AWS Marketplace purchases
  • Some support charges

Tactical tips

  • Tip 1.Use a `@yourcompany.com` email, Gmail/Outlook is a huge rejection driver.
  • Tip 2.Make sure your website is real: thin sites, broken pages, or generic templates get rejected.
  • Tip 3.Apply at the right time, don't burn credits early; time it for scale-up.
  • Tip 4.Stack with NVIDIA Inception first if you're AI-focused to unlock larger tiers.
  • Tip 5.You can re-apply for a higher Portfolio offer after burning through a lower tier.
  • Tip 6.AWS verifies funding through Pitchbook/Crunchbase; false info = ban.

Common rejection reasons

  • Personal Gmail/Outlook email on application
  • Website does not clearly describe what the product does
  • Missing or invalid Organization ID on Portfolio tier
  • Already received credits via Mercury/Brex that hit the cap

Frequently asked about AWS Activate

Is AWS Activate free to apply?

Yes. Applying to AWS Activate does not cost anything and does not require giving up equity. Some programs require a payment method on file that activates only after credits are consumed or expire, check the program detail page for specifics.

How long does AWS Activate take to review applications?

Processing times are shown on the program detail page. Most programs reply within 1–3 weeks. Self-serve tiers (like AWS Activate Founders) can approve in 2–7 days; partner-referred tiers (like AWS Activate Portfolio) usually take 5–10 days.

Can I combine AWS Activate with other startup programs?

Most programs stack. The "Stacks well with" section on each detail page lists commonly combined programs. A few important exceptions: if you already claimed AWS credits via Brex or Mercury, your direct AWS Activate amount may be reduced.

What is the most common reason applications to Amazon Web Services get rejected?

The top rejection reasons are (1) using a personal Gmail/Outlook address instead of a company domain, (2) having a thin or placeholder website, and (3) mismatched information between the application and Crunchbase/Pitchbook. The tips section on the program page details program-specific factors.

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