Program

AWS Generative AI Accelerator

AWS's largest startup credit award, up to $1 million. It's very competitive: the 2025 group was 40 startups chosen from thousands.

AWS Generative AI Accelerator is for startups building foundational generative and agentic AI technology. Up to $1,000,000.

Credits: Up to $1,000,000
Format: 8-week hybrid program
2025 cohort: 40 startups
Last intake: Applications June 10 – July 10, 2025
Finale: AWS re:Invent, Las Vegas
Cost to apply: Free

Status: may not be running right now

no 2026 cohort found; possibly inactive. The program page now returns 404 and the AWS programs list shows only the 'AWS Inference Fellowship' under Accelerators. AWS hasn't announced a discontinuation.

At a glance

Credits: Up to $1,000,000
Decision time: About 7-8 weeks after the window closed in 2025: applicants were notified by September 2, 2025, after virtual interviews for finalists. The cohort was announced October 7, 2025.
Access: Open application

Official application page

01 · Overview

A good fit if you are

Foundation model builders
AI infrastructure and fine-tuning tool companies
Agentic AI startups with hard technical problems

Not for

Apps that only call an existing model API
Very early ideas without a product
Teams that can't travel to Seattle or Las Vegas

Timeline and terms

Application window: Last confirmed window: June 10 - July 10, 2025 (2025 cohort). The 2024 window was June 13 - July 19, 2024. No official 2026 window was found.
Decision time: About 7-8 weeks after the window closed in 2025: applicants were notified by September 2, 2025, after virtual interviews for finalists. The cohort was announced October 7, 2025.
Program length: 8 weeks in 2025 (hybrid: in-person kickoff week in Seattle, 6 virtual weeks, final week at AWS re:Invent Las Vegas). 2024 was 10 weeks.
Cash: None. No cash and no equity taken; participation is free, but travel to in-person weeks is at your own expense unless AWS says otherwise (2024 terms).
Where: Global ('most countries'), with the exclusions above. The 2025 cohort came from North America, Asia Pacific & Japan, Europe, the Middle East & Africa and Latin America.

Up to USD 1,000,000 in AWS Promotional Credits per selected startup (2024 and 2025 cohorts). The 2024 terms say credits are issued through AWS Activate, and participants must separately qualify for and be accepted into Activate.

What changed recently

2026-07-04 (first Wayback capture of the redirect)
aws.amazon.com/startups/programs/generative-ai began redirecting to startups.aws.com/programs/generative-ai, which returns 404 as of 2026-10-04. The AWS programs page now lists only 'AWS Inference Fellowship' under Accelerators. AWS hasn't said whether it replaces GAIA. Source
2026-04-03 (Wayback snapshot)
Program page still showed the 2025 timeline, but its FAQ now called it 'an invite-only program for priority startups' meant to help top AWS customers with 'Inference related production challenges'. Source
2025-10-07
40 startups announced for the 2025 cohort; kickoff October 13, 2025 in Seattle, ending at re:Invent December 2025. Source
2025-06-10
Applications opened for the third cohort, cut to 40 startups and to 8 weeks (from 10). Window June 10 - July 10, 2025. Source
2024-09-12
80 startups announced for the 2024 cohort, chosen from more than 4,700 applications from 129 countries (AWS stated an acceptance rate under 2%). Cohort size quadrupled from 20 to 80 and selection became region-based (20 per region). Source
2024-06-13
AWS announced a USD 230M commitment for generative AI startups. The second GAIA cohort grew to 80 startups with up to USD 1M in credits each; NVIDIA was presenting partner; 10-week program. Applications June 13 - July 19, 2024. Source

02 · Eligibility

Hard eligibility rules

You must

Per the 2024 terms: CEO co-founder(s) own 51% or more of the company
Per the 2024 terms: raised no more than a Series A and no more than 5 years old
Per the 2024 terms: technology or technology-enabled startup using cloud services
Per the 2024 terms: product already built, aimed at a sizable market, with signs of early revenue
Per the 2024 terms: a CTO or technical lead in place
Per the 2024 terms: applicant at least 18; startup registered to do business in the program country(ies); able to attend in-person weeks at own expense
Per the 2025 press release: functioning MVP, some customer traction, strong technical team; prior AWS use not required
Must qualify for and be accepted into AWS Activate to receive the credits (2024 terms)

Excluded

Government agencies, public administrations and political organisations
Businesses engaged in illegal activity
Businesses with AWS/affiliate employees in leadership positions
Entities on the U.S. Treasury sanctions list
Businesses located in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia or Syria
Businesses located in China (separate program)
Past participants who received benefits may be ineligible for substantially similar future AWS accelerators

Have this ready before you apply

Completed program application with every mandatory field (incomplete entries invalid)
Founding team details and experience; team composition with gen-AI/agentic AI skills (ML engineers, data scientists)
Clear industry use case and target market
Evidence of product maturity (MVP) and traction or early revenue
Cap table showing CEO co-founder(s) own 51% or more (2024 criterion)
Funding history (no more than Series A) and incorporation date (no more than 5 years) (2024 criteria)
Readiness for due diligence and a virtual interview if shortlisted
AWS Activate application to receive the credits

03 · How to apply

How to apply

1
Watch the program page for the next intake. The 2025 window opened in June.
2
Prepare a clear technical story: what you're building and why AWS support matters.
3
Submit the application during the open window.
4
Selected startups are told a few weeks later and the cohort is announced publicly.

What catches founders out

"Up to $1 million" is a maximum. The award is set for each startup.
The 2026 dates weren't published when we checked. Don't rely on last year's calendar.
AWS describes the program as for priority startups working on complex technical challenges.

04 · Credits & stacking

What the credits cover

Covered

AWS Promotional Credits for 'the full breadth of AWS services' (AWS program page)
Per the 2024 press release: compute, storage and databases, AWS Trainium and Inferentia2, Amazon SageMaker, Amazon Bedrock

Not covered

Standard AWS Promotional Credit Terms exclusions apply: Mechanical Turk, Managed Services, ineligible support tiers, AWS Marketplace, Professional Services, Training, Certification, Route 53 domain registration/transfer, crypto mining, upfront Savings Plan/RI fees
Travel and other participation expenses not covered by AWS

Stacking with other credits

Can combine with

AWS Activate (GAIA credits are issued through Activate; participants must qualify for Activate)

Can't combine with

Substantially similar future AWS accelerators, if you already received GAIA benefits (2024 terms s.1.2, 'may be deemed ineligible')

Lifetime cap: Not published for GAIA. Since its credits go through AWS Activate, Activate's unpublished lifetime cap may apply; this is unverified.

Past cohorts Show

202540 startups

Including: LlamaIndex, Chai Discovery, Hedra, Inception Labs, Exaforce

United States · Canada · Brazil · Mexico · Colombia · India · Australia · Japan · Korea · Thailand · Israel · United Kingdom · Ireland · France · Germany · Switzerland · United Arab Emirates

Source

202480 startups

Including: Cartesia, Relevance AI, PhysicsX, Reality Defender, Gladia

United States · Brazil · Mexico · Colombia · Chile · Argentina · Uruguay · India · Japan · Korea · Australia · Singapore · Vietnam · United Kingdom · France · Germany · Spain · Israel · United Arab Emirates · Ukraine · Hungary · Georgia

Source

05 · Alternatives

If this isn't the right program

AWS Credits for AI Startups
$200,000+ through your account manager, without a cohort.
AWS Activate Portfolio
Up to $200,000 now, through a provider.

Sources

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 much does the AWS Generative AI Accelerator give?

Up to $1 million in AWS promotional credits, plus mentoring and go-to-market support.

When are applications open?

The 2025 window ran June 10 to July 10. Check the official page for the next intake.

How many startups are selected?

40 startups were selected for the 2025 cohort.

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