Eligible startups can get up to $200,000 in AWS Activate credits — usable across eligible AWS services, including third-party models such as Anthropic's on Amazon Bedrock. You apply with an AWS account on a paid plan, which AWS says you reach by entering a payment method.
Up to $200,000 (Portfolio, Pre-Series B); self-funded Founders tier from $1,000 up to $5,000
Credit card required
Card required
Availability
Open
Available subject to the provider eligibility and usage conditions.
Application deadline
No deadline stated
Credit validity
Usually 1–2 years depending on the package; use the expiry assigned in the AWS console.
Eligibility
Pre-Series B startups founded within the last 10 years with an AWS account on a paid plan, new to Activate credits (or requesting more). The Portfolio tier requires an Organization ID from an AWS Activate Provider (accelerator, incubator or VC).
Current conditions
Portfolio requires an Activate Provider Org ID; Founders starts at $1,000 and only selected participants reach $5,000.
An AWS account on the Paid plan is required; the application itself does not publish a separate card rule.
Portfolio applications must be within 12 months of the most recent funding date, according to the AWS credit strategy guide.
AWS Activate credits to spend across eligible AWS services, including third-party models on Amazon Bedrock: AWS says "AWS Activate Credits can also be used for third-party models available on Amazon Bedrock. These models come from top AI companies, including OpenAI, Mistral AI, Anthropic, and Meta", and its Activate terms let the credits offset AWS Marketplace charges "incurred for the use of third-party foundation models available on Amazon Bedrock" — which makes Activate the documented credit route to Anthropic's Claude on AWS. The self-funded Founders tier grants up to $5,000 (starting at $1,000); the Portfolio tier (via an associated Activate Provider) grants up to $200,000. Credits usually expire within 1–2 years depending on the package. AWS does not state anywhere whether the application itself requires a card. What it does state is that you need an "AWS Account on Paid Tier Plan" and that "Free account plans are not eligible for Activate promotional credits" — and AWS says you "upgrade to a paid plan by entering your payment method" — which is why this offer is marked card-required rather than card-free.
How to claim it
Confirm your startup meets the Activate eligibility criteria
Apply via the AWS Activate page (Founders self-serve, or Portfolio through an Activate Provider)
Once approved, the credits are applied to your AWS account
Verification history and earlier terms
This dated editorial record includes superseded conditions. Use the current facts
above for eligibility and access.
Application-based — AWS pages don't state a card requirement for the application either way (tracked as V25); receiving/spending credits requires an AWS account, which itself requires a payment method (see the AWS Free Tier offer). Re-verified 2026-07-03: Founders up to $5,000 (start at $1,000), Portfolio up to $200,000, Pre-Series B + founded within 10 years, Org ID required for Portfolio, credits 'usually expire within 1-2 years'. A separate invite-only 'AWS Credits for AI Startups' tier offers $200,000+ post-Portfolio; AWS also cross-sells separate Kiro startup credits. Re-verified 2026-08-15: unchanged — Founders "Up to $5,000 USD in Activate Credits" ("Start with $1,000 USD"), Portfolio "Up to $200,000 USD in Activate Credits", and the eligibility line "Pre-series B, founded in the last 10 years, AWS Account on Paid Tier Plan, and either new to Activate Credits or requesting more credits than previously received" all confirmed verbatim. Credit validity and card requirement remain unstated on the page. Re-verified 2026-09-13: unchanged — Founders "Up to $5,000 USD in Activate Credits" (starting at $1,000), Portfolio "Up to $200,000 USD in Activate Credits", the invite-only AWS Credits for AI Startups tier at $200,000+, and the eligibility line "Pre-series B, founded in the last 10 years, AWS Account on Paid Tier Plan, and either new to Activate Credits or requesting more credits than previously received". Credit validity and card requirement remain unstated on the page (V25). RE-CONFIRMED 2026-09-19 while evaluating whether to split this record into per-tier entries (V9). Two figures in this record were independently re-found verbatim on AWS's own domain today: the Founders structure — "The Activate Founders tier offers $1,000 in AWS Activate Credits to support early-stage startups. Select startups may qualify for up to $5,000 over time." — and, importantly, the validity window this record has carried since July, "Credits usually expire within 1-2 years depending on the package.", which is still published in rendered prose at aws.amazon.com/aws-startups/learn/everything-you-need-to-know-about-aws-activate-credits/ (reached via 301 from aws.amazon.com/startups/learn/...). The Portfolio ceiling "Up to $200,000 USD in Activate Credits" was corroborated on four separate official AWS pages. DECISION — NOT SPLIT: two independent verification passes both concluded that per-tier records would duplicate this one rather than add coverage. Founders and Portfolio share one source page, one eligibility line, and one unstated card status; splitting would manufacture a second row from the same evidence and would also break /offers/aws-activate-startup-credits, which 15 articles link to. V9 resolved as "one programme, one record". Card status re-confirmed as genuinely unstated: zero occurrences of "credit card", "payment method" or "payment instrument" on the credits page, and none in the AWS billing docs either (V25 stands). CORRECTION 2026-09-19 — an unsourced user-facing claim was removed. This record's summary previously read "Apply with no card" and `cardRequired` was false. Neither was ever verbatim-sourced: two independent verification passes today each grepped the AWS Activate credits page, the startups.aws.com FAQ and the AWS billing docs and found ZERO occurrences of "credit card", "payment method" or "payment instrument". The claim was a structural inference from the application being an online form — exactly the deduction pattern that ADR-0021 permitted and that V26 proved dangerous on Cerebras. `cardRequired` is now true, on the published and quotable ground that Activate requires an "AWS Account on Paid Tier Plan" and that "Free account plans are not eligible for Activate promotional credits", and a paid-plan AWS account does require a payment method. The copy now says AWS is silent on the application itself rather than asserting either way. V25 stays open for the narrower question. Re-verified 2026-10-10: unchanged. aws.amazon.com/startups/credits still reads Founders "Up to $5,000 USD in Activate Credits" ("Start with $1,000 USD in Activate Credits"), Portfolio "Up to $200,000 USD in Activate Credits", AWS Credits for AI Startups "Invite only ... $200,000+ in AWS Credits", and "Eligibility for AWS Activate: Pre-series B, founded in the last 10 years, AWS Account on Paid Tier Plan, and either new to Activate Credits or requesting more credits than previously received". "Credits usually expire within 1-2 years depending on the package." is still at aws.amazon.com/aws-startups/learn/everything-you-need-to-know-about-aws-activate-credits/. "Free account plans are not eligible for Activate promotional credits." is still the answer to 'Why do I need to upgrade to a Paid Tier Plan?' at startups.aws.com/faq. The card basis is now stronger. AWS's new sign-up flow (September 2026) lets most new customers start without a card, but cannot earn Activate credits ('Earn extra credits from AWS Activate: No', docs.aws.amazon.com/accounts/latest/reference/sign-up-for-aws.html), and AWS says you "upgrade to a paid plan by entering your payment method" (AWS News Blog, 'AWS reimagines the getting started experience'). V25 (does the application form itself ask for a card) remains unstated. Bedrock: the Activate Terms let credits "offset fees and charges for AWS Marketplace incurred for the use of third-party foundation models available on Amazon Bedrock", so Activate is a documented credit route to Claude on Bedrock. SageMaker is not named on any Activate page. ADVERSARIALLY RE-VERIFIED 2026-10-10: the Bedrock third-party authorization UPHELD on aws.amazon.com/activate/terms/ (Last Updated Jan 22, 2026: 'may be applied to offset fees and charges for AWS Marketplace incurred for the use of third-party foundation models available on Amazon Bedrock ("Bedrock 3P Model Spend")'), on aws.amazon.com/startups/ ('Credits are redeemable on third-party models on Amazon Bedrock') and on the aws-startups learn page, which names Anthropic among the providers. No AWS page names 'Claude' itself; copy says 'Anthropic's'. 'SageMaker' removed — AWS does not name it on any Activate page. Re-verified 2026-10-21 in the audit-remediation source sweep: current primary offer page and the material eligibility, validity, unit and payment evidence recorded in SOURCE-VERIFICATION.csv. Historical notes above are retained as history, not current terms. No account was created and no claim was submitted.
New AWS accounts get up to $200 in credits — $100 on signup plus up to $100 more for completing activities — usable on Amazon Bedrock. AWS now says most new customers can sign up without a card, but may ask for one.
Free value
Up to $200
Card required
Card: conditional Most new customers can sign up without a payment method; AWS may request one to verify identity.
Application deadline
No deadline stated
Credit validity
AWS FAQ conflicts: General Q6 and Advanced Features Q2 say 6 months after account creation; Free Plan Q8 and activity-credit Q5 say 12 months. Check the expiry shown in your AWS account.
Who
New AWS customers, on the Free or Paid plan. AWS says a payment method "isn't required to sign up for most new customers" on its new sign-up flow, but may request one to verify identity; you are not charged while you stay on the Free plan.
Available subject to the provider eligibility and usage conditions.