AWS Activate is Amazon Web Services’ credit programme for early-stage companies. Self-funded startups can start with $1,000 in AWS credits, and startups backed by an approved accelerator or investor can receive up to $200,000. We checked the official AWS pages on 1 November 2026, and the figures below reflect what AWS publishes today.
What you get
Activate has two tiers you can apply for directly, plus an invitation-only tier for AI companies.
| Tier | Credit value | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Activate Founders | $1,000 to start, up to $5,000 for selected startups | Bootstrapped or self-funded companies |
| Activate Portfolio | Up to $200,000 | Pre-Series B startups backed by an Activate Provider |
| AWS Credits for AI Startups | $200,000+ | AI startups invited after Portfolio, via their account manager |
All Activate credits are issued in US dollars and fall under the AWS Promotional Credit Terms and Conditions. Once approved, they apply automatically to eligible charges on your account until they are used up or expire. AWS says approved credits and their expiry date usually show up in the Billing and Cost Management console within 3-4 hours.
AWS points to services such as Amazon Bedrock for generative AI work and Kiro for development as things the credits can be spent on. It also runs a separate Kiro Startup Credits offer for eligible startups that do not currently hold Activate credits, but it does not publish an amount for that offer.
What the credits do not cover
AWS names these as excluded: Amazon Mechanical Turk, AWS Managed Services, AWS Professional Services, and AWS Training and Certification. The practical rule is that if a service is not listed as eligible in your Billing and Cost Management console, the credits will not pay for it. Credits also do not apply to bills you ran up before they were granted.
Expiry
AWS says credits usually expire within 1-2 years, depending on the package. Your exact date is shown in the console under Billing, then Credits. When credits expire or run out, ongoing usage is billed at normal rates.
Who qualifies
The core rules on the AWS credits page are:
- Your company is pre-Series B.
- It was founded within the last 10 years.
- Your AWS account is on a Paid Tier Plan, not only the free plan.
- You are new to Activate credits, or you are asking for more than you received before.
- You have a functioning company website.
On top of that, each tier has its own condition:
- Founders: you must be self-funded. No investor or accelerator link is needed.
- Portfolio: you need an Organization ID from an Activate Provider, which can be an accelerator, incubator, angel investor or VC firm. You must apply within 12 months of your most recent funding date, and you cannot already hold credits of equal or greater value.
If you are an AI company and expect to need more than $200,000, AWS tells you to speak with your account manager rather than apply through the form.
How to apply
AWS describes four steps:
- Sign in with, or create, an AWS Builder ID using a professional email address, then complete your profile.
- Pick your tier. Choose Founders if you are self-funded, or Portfolio if you are backed by an Activate Provider and have its Org ID.
- Fill in details about your product, funding stage and company.
- Create or link the AWS account that should receive the credits, then submit.
AWS says you will hear back within 5-10 business days.
Things to check before you apply
- Upgrade the account first. Activate requires a Paid Tier Plan on the AWS account you link. If you are still on the free plan, sort that out before you submit.
- Link the right account. Credits land on the account you connect to your Builder ID. If you run separate accounts for staging and production, decide which one should carry the credits.
- Mind the 12-month window. Portfolio applicants must apply within a year of their latest funding date. A round from two years ago will not count.
- Watch the expiry date. Credits lapse at the end of the package’s term even if you have balance left. Set a billing alarm so you know when usage starts costing real money.
- Check eligible services. Training, consulting and Mechanical Turk spend are outside the credits. If your plan depends on a specific service, confirm it shows as eligible in the console.
- Reapplying has limits. You can only come back for a larger amount than you were approved for before, and there is a lifetime cap.
How it compares
The Founders tier is easy to reach but small. If you are in an accelerator or have raised from a VC, ask whether they are an Activate Provider, because the Portfolio tier is worth up to 40 times more. Separately, new AWS accounts get their own Free Tier offer, which is unrelated to Activate and does not count as a startup credit. Students should look at AWS’s education programmes instead, which are separate from Activate.
