Program

Activate credits through accelerators and VCs

Most large Activate awards come through an Activate Provider: an accelerator, incubator or VC that gives you an Org ID. Here's how to find one.

Activate credits through accelerators and VCs is for startups in accelerators, incubators or VC portfolios. Up to $200,000 via Org ID.

Credits: Up to $200,000
Needs: Org ID from a provider
Stage: Pre-Series B

At a glance

Credits: $5,000–$500,000
Decision time: Startups: 3-5 days with a provider email invite vs 7-10 days with an Org ID (FAQ). Provider Central says invite links cut approval from 8 to 3 days. Provider applications: reviewed in 7-10 business days.
Credits last: Varies by package and isn't published. AWS guidance says usually 1-2 years. A Reddit report says USD 5K fintech-provider credits expired after 12 months (anecdotal).
Access: Open application

Official application page

01 · Overview

A good fit if you are

Startups already in an accelerator
Founders raising from VCs

Not for

Bootstrapped founders without a provider

Timeline and terms

Application window: Rolling for both providers and startups. Email invites from providers expire after 30 days.
Decision time: Startups: 3-5 days with a provider email invite vs 7-10 days with an Org ID (FAQ). Provider Central says invite links cut approval from 8 to 3 days. Provider applications: reviewed in 7-10 business days.
Credit validity: Varies by package and isn't published. AWS guidance says usually 1-2 years. A Reddit report says USD 5K fintech-provider credits expired after 12 months (anecdotal).
Where: Global, but some provider routes (Brex, Mercury) effectively require a US-incorporated company with an account there

Each provider has its own package(s), set by AWS and reviewed annually. Providers can't request changes. Standard Activate Portfolio maximum: USD 200K. Verified published examples: Mercury USD 5K; Brex USD 5K (new customers, subject to Activate eligibility); Carta USD 5K (eligibility applies); NVIDIA Inception USD 10K / 25K tiers and USD 100K (Scale tier), per NVIDIA staff on NVIDIA's forum; Y Combinator USD 500K package for the Jan 2024 cohort (AWS blog, special package beyond the standard Portfolio max); YC AI Stack for students at YC events USD 10K. Techstars publishes no AWS amount. Multiple offers from one provider (e.g. USD 5K/25K/100K) pay only the difference when you move up.

What changed recently

about 2025-12 (inferred from the creation timestamp in the Provider Central FAQ entry's ID, 2025-12-15; AWS announced no date)
AWS Activate Provider Central introduced: providers view and share their Org ID, send one-time pre-validated email invites ('3 clicks'), and track portfolio applications for 24 months. Existing Org IDs are unchanged. The startup FAQ now recommends email invites (3-5 days) over Org IDs (7-10 days). Source
2024-04-02
AWS announced that Activate credits can be used for third-party models on Amazon Bedrock, alongside a USD 500K credit package for Y Combinator's Jan 2024 cohort. Source

02 · Eligibility

Hard eligibility rules

You must

Providers: venture capital firm, seed or angel investor, or accelerator that is actively investing in startups. Apply with a Builder ID, Activate profile, and institution and portfolio details.
Startups: the provider's Org ID (confidential, not a promo code, case-sensitive, usable once per startup) or a one-time email invite sent through Provider Central
The provider must confirm the affiliation (it replies to AWS's verification email; invites are pre-validated)
The applicant email must exactly match the email on file with the provider (for invites, the address that got the invite)
Activate Portfolio eligibility: pre-Series B, founded in the last 10 years, Paid-plan AWS account, business email domain matching the AWS account, new to Activate or requesting more than previously received
Each new award must be bigger than the previous one and stay under the Activate lifetime maximum

Excluded

Non-investing organisations (e.g. co-working spaces) as providers
Series B+ startups
Free email domains on business applications
Startups already at or above the package amount (they get nothing incremental)

Have this ready before you apply

Provider side: Builder ID, Activate profile, institution details and investment portfolio information
Startup side: Builder ID, Activate profile, AWS account ID linked (Paid plan), provider Org ID or the invite email, business email matching the provider's records and the AWS account domain, company website, funding stage and date of last round

03 · How to apply

How to apply

1
Ask your accelerator or investor if they're an Activate Provider.
2
Get the Org ID.
3
Apply for Activate Portfolio with it.

What catches founders out

Each provider sets its own amount.
You can use only one Portfolio package.

What founders report Show

Summarised from public founder posts. Anecdotal, not official AWS policy.

Why applications get rejected

Email mismatch: the applicant email isn't identical (case-sensitive) to the one the provider has on file, so AWS can't confirm the affiliation
The provider didn't reply to AWS's confirmation email within about 7 days
The AWS account email domain doesn't match the application domain, or a free email provider was used (reported even with an Org ID from an account manager)
Previous Activate credits at or above the provider package

Approval times reported

NVIDIA Inception USD 100K requests sometimes took weeks. One founder's first submissions were silently dropped because of a buggy Airtable form; AWS later approved USD 75K incremental credit (Aug 2025).
Fintech-provider USD 5K credits reportedly land in about a week (Feb 2026 Reddit)

Gotchas

The headline 'USD 100K' isn't open to anyone: without a provider, founders get Activate Founders (USD 1K start)
NVIDIA Inception uses tier-specific passwords for Airtable forms (USD 10K/25K vs USD 100K), and members struggled to find the Org ID
Brex/Mercury routes: company name and email must match the fintech account, a prior USD 5K+ in credits disqualifies you, and some reports say a fintech card must be the default payment method and a Business Support plan is needed (unverified)
Third-party 'credit brokers' on Reddit claim to route startups to higher tiers. Treat with caution.

04 · Credits & stacking

What the credits cover

Covered

AWS services under the AWS Activate Terms, including third-party Amazon Bedrock models since 2024-04-01

Not covered

Amazon Mechanical Turk
AWS Managed Services
Ineligible AWS Support (Enterprise, Unified Operations, Enterprise On-Ramp, resold support, Partner-Led Support)
AWS Marketplace
AWS Professional Services
AWS Training
AWS Certification
Amazon Route 53 domain name registration or transfer
Services used for cryptocurrency mining
Upfront fees for Savings Plans and Reserved Instances
Any other services designated by your AWS contracting entity

Stacking with other credits

Can combine with

Offers from multiple Activate Providers, each used once, with each award larger than the last and under the lifetime cap
Activate Founders before Portfolio (difference paid)
AWS Credits for AI Startups after Portfolio (invite-only, via your account manager)
Additional credits through your AWS account team

Can't combine with

The same Org ID twice
The same provider offer twice
Stacking with earlier Activate credits beyond the package (you get only the difference)

Lifetime cap: An Activate lifetime maximum exists (excluding Support-plan credits) but AWS doesn't publish the number. See batch 1 Activate Portfolio. The YC USD 500K package shows provider-specific packages can exceed the standard USD 200K Portfolio maximum.

05 · Alternatives

If this isn't the right program

AWS Activate Portfolio
Up to $200,000 through an accelerator, angel or VC.
AWS Activate Founders
Open all year, apply yourself for $1,000 to $5,000.
AWS Generative AI Accelerator
Up to $1 million for selected AI startups.

Sources

AWS Activate Credits (official)

Checked October 2026. AWS can change amounts and rules at any time.

Facts on this page checked against official sources on 2026-10-04.

Questions

How do I find a provider?

Ask your investors, or check our Via pages for accelerators and VCs.

Prices and credit amounts are estimates and may change. Check AWS for current terms.