Cohere for Startups
25% off Cohere's models for a year, plus dedicated engineering support and go-to-market exposure, for Series B and earlier startups.
Cohere for Startups offers up to 25% off for 1 year + support to bootstrapped, pre-seed, seed startups, no VC referral required. Review takes 5–14 business days.
About
Cohere builds enterprise-grade language models (Command), best-in-class embeddings, and Rerank, widely used for retrieval-augmented generation and search in security-conscious enterprises. Its Startup Program gives early-stage teams a 25% discount for a full year plus enhanced support.
Beyond price, accepted startups get dedicated AI engineering support, go-to-market amplification to Cohere's large developer audience, VC network connections, and a logo and use-case feature on Cohere's site. It is open to companies at Series B or earlier.
Tiers
- Series B or earlier
Eligibility
- Series B or earlier
- Building enterprise AI on language models
- Series C+
How to apply
- 1
- 2Wait for reviewCohere reviews eligibility and use case.
- 3ActivateThe discount and support are applied for a year.
What else you get
- Command models
- Best-in-class embeddings
- Rerank for search and RAG
- Dedicated engineering support
- GTM amplification + logo feature
What credits cover (and don't)
- Cohere API (Command, Embed, Rerank)
Tactical tips
- Tip 1.Cohere's Rerank and Embed are strong specifically for RAG and enterprise search, less so for open-ended chat.
- Tip 2.The 25% discount runs for a year, so it is most useful once you are past prototyping and scaling usage.
- Tip 3.Catalyst Grants are a separate track for researchers and public-impact organizations.
Common rejection reasons
- Series C+
- No enterprise language-model use case
Frequently asked about Cohere for Startups
Is Cohere for Startups free to apply?
Yes. Applying to Cohere for Startups 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 Cohere for Startups 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 Cohere for Startups 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 Cohere 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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