Microsoft for Startups - Investor Offer ($150,000)
Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-for-startups/benefits
Description
Create account to comment on specific lines or Sign in
+ 1 Startups backed by an investor in the Microsoft for Startups Investor Network can receive up to $150,000 in Azure credits, starting at $100,000 with the ability to unlock more by demonstrating active usage of qualifying Azure services. The program also includes 50 seats of Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Dynamics 365 and Power Platform licenses, GitHub Enterprise (20 users), Visual Studio Enterprise (5 users), access to on-demand GPU VMs, dedicated Azure technical experts, and go-to-market support through Microsoft's enterprise sales channels. OpenAI API credits (historically $2,500) have been largely discontinued as of mid-2025 -- startups should use Azure OpenAI services with their Azure credits instead.
No comments on this line yet.
+ 2
No comments on this line yet.
+
3
No comments on this line yet.
+ 4
No comments on this line yet.
+ 6
No comments on this line yet.
+ 7 1. Get a referral code from your investor (VC, accelerator, incubator, or university) that is part of the Microsoft for Startups Investor Network. The list of participating investors is not public -- ask your investor directly
No comments on this line yet.
+ 8 2. Go to startups.microsoft.com and click "Get started now"
No comments on this line yet.
+ 9 3. Enter the referral code provided by your investor
No comments on this line yet.
+ 10 4. Sign in with a LinkedIn account (mandatory for all applicants)
No comments on this line yet.
+ 11 5. Fill in your business details: company name, website, development stage (Concept Design, Prototyping, Building MVP, MVP in Market, or Established Market)
No comments on this line yet.
+ 12 6. Confirm your startup meets all eligibility criteria
No comments on this line yet.
+ 13 7. Submit the application and wait for review -- typically 3 business days
No comments on this line yet.
+ 14 8. If approved, you receive an email notification. Log into the portal and click "Activate Azure" to link your Microsoft account and receive credits
No comments on this line yet.
+ 15 9. Complete Azure sign-up (a payment method is required, but you will not be charged while credits are active)
No comments on this line yet.
+ 16 10. Credits may take up to 24 hours to appear in your Azure account
No comments on this line yet.
+ 17
No comments on this line yet.
+ 18 Important:
No comments on this line yet.
+ 19 • Submitted applications cannot be edited -- you must delete and resubmit if changes are needed
No comments on this line yet.
+ 20 • If declined, you can reapply after 14 days. The decline email includes reasons
No comments on this line yet.
+ 21 • If you have referral codes from multiple investors, contact support with all codes
No comments on this line yet.
+ 22 • Referral codes are time-bound and have expiration dates
No comments on this line yet.
+ 23
No comments on this line yet.
+
24
No comments on this line yet.
+ 25
No comments on this line yet.
+ 27
No comments on this line yet.
+ 28 Your startup must meet all of the following criteria:
No comments on this line yet.
+ 29
No comments on this line yet.
+ 30 RequirementDetails
No comments on this line yet.
+ 31 Investor affiliationMust be backed by an investor in the Microsoft for Startups Investor Network
No comments on this line yet.
+ 32 Software-based productCore business must be a software product or service that you own (not licensed from another party)
No comments on this line yet.
+ 33 Lifetime Azure creditsMust have received fewer than $350,000 in lifetime free Azure credits
No comments on this line yet.
+ 34 Funding stageMust not have raised Series C funding or beyond
No comments on this line yet.
+ 35 Company statusPrivately held, for-profit business
No comments on this line yet.
+ 36 HeadquartersLocated in a country where Azure services are available
No comments on this line yet.
+ 37 Excluded typesEducational institutions, government orgs, personal blogs, dev shops, consultancies, agencies, and crypto/bitcoin mining operations are not eligible
No comments on this line yet.
+ 38
No comments on this line yet.
+
39
No comments on this line yet.
+ 40
No comments on this line yet.
+ 42
No comments on this line yet.
+ 43 The investor offer does not give you all $150,000 at once. Credits are released in stages:
No comments on this line yet.
+ 44
No comments on this line yet.
+ 45 • Starting allocation: Most startups begin with $100,000 in Azure credits
No comments on this line yet.
+ 46 • Earning more: You can increase your allocation by spending $100+ USD in a single month on qualifying Azure services:
No comments on this line yet.
+ 47 • Azure Monitor
No comments on this line yet.
+ 48 • Log Analytics
No comments on this line yet.
+ 49 • Application Insights
No comments on this line yet.
+ 50 • Microsoft Defender for Cloud
No comments on this line yet.
+ 51 • Microsoft Sentinel
No comments on this line yet.
+ 52 • Microsoft Purview
No comments on this line yet.
+ 53 • Credit increase timeline: Once qualifying usage criteria are met, additional credits appear within up to 30 days
No comments on this line yet.
+ 54 • Maximum cap: Your total eligibility is capped at your offer maximum (up to $150,000) minus any credits already used
No comments on this line yet.
+ 55 • No rollover: Once you reach the maximum, no additional credits are issued
No comments on this line yet.
+ 56
No comments on this line yet.
+ 57 Example: If your offer cap is $150,000 and you have already used $50,000, you can unlock up to $100,000 more.
No comments on this line yet.
+ 58
No comments on this line yet.
+
59
No comments on this line yet.
+ 60
No comments on this line yet.
+ 62
No comments on this line yet.
+ 63 ProductIncluded Amount
No comments on this line yet.
+ 64 Microsoft 365 Business Premium50 seats
No comments on this line yet.
+ 65 Dynamics 365 Customer Service Enterprise10 seats
No comments on this line yet.
+ 66 Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise10 seats
No comments on this line yet.
+ 67 Dynamics 365 Team Members25 seats
No comments on this line yet.
+ 68 Power Apps10 users
No comments on this line yet.
+ 69 Power Automate10 users
No comments on this line yet.
+ 70 Power BI10 users
No comments on this line yet.
+ 71 GitHub Enterprise20 users
No comments on this line yet.
+ 72 Visual Studio Enterprise5 users
No comments on this line yet.
+ 73 LinkedIn PremiumFree access
No comments on this line yet.
+ 74 Microsoft ClarityFree access
No comments on this line yet.
+ 75
No comments on this line yet.
+
76
No comments on this line yet.
+ 77
No comments on this line yet.
+ 79
No comments on this line yet.
+ 80 The investor offer includes access to on-demand GPU VMs for AI workloads such as model training, fine-tuning, and inference deployment. GPU VM costs are deducted from your Azure credit balance. Available GPU VM families include:
No comments on this line yet.
+ 81
No comments on this line yet.
+ 82 • NCas T4 v3 -- entry-level inference and light training
No comments on this line yet.
+ 83 • NC A100 v4 -- heavy training and fine-tuning
No comments on this line yet.
+ 84 • ND A100 v4 -- large-scale distributed training
No comments on this line yet.
+ 85
No comments on this line yet.
+ 86 GPU VM availability varies by Azure region. Some GPU SKUs may require a quota increase request through the Azure portal, which typically takes 1-3 business days.
No comments on this line yet.
+ 87
No comments on this line yet.
+
88
No comments on this line yet.
+ 89
No comments on this line yet.
+ 91
No comments on this line yet.
+ 92 • Azure Technical Experts: Direct access to Microsoft engineers for architecture review, performance optimization, and AI implementation guidance
No comments on this line yet.
+ 93 • Azure Standard Support: 24/7 expert assistance at no cost
No comments on this line yet.
+ 94 • Go-to-Market Support: Help with value proposition refinement, marketing strategy, and sales through Microsoft channels
No comments on this line yet.
+ 95 • Microsoft Enterprise Network: Connections to Microsoft's enterprise customer base for partnership and sales opportunities
No comments on this line yet.
+ 96
No comments on this line yet.
+
97
No comments on this line yet.
+ 98
No comments on this line yet.
+ 100
No comments on this line yet.
+ 101 Historically, the program included $2,500 in OpenAI API credits (on platform.openai.com). As of mid-2025, this benefit has been largely discontinued for most participants:
No comments on this line yet.
+ 102
No comments on this line yet.
+ 103 • Only startups that reached Level 4 in the former Founders Hub tier system may still qualify for $5,000 in OpenAI credits
No comments on this line yet.
+ 104 • New participants should plan to use Azure OpenAI Service instead, which is a separate Microsoft product billed against your Azure credits
No comments on this line yet.
+ 105 • Azure OpenAI provides access to GPT-5 mini/nano, GPT-4.1, GPT-4o, o4-mini, and other models directly within your Azure subscription. Advanced models (GPT-5.2, GPT-5.1, GPT-5, o3) require limited-access registration
No comments on this line yet.
+ 106
No comments on this line yet.
+
107
No comments on this line yet.
+ 108
No comments on this line yet.
+ 110
No comments on this line yet.
+ 111 Top-performing startups in the investor offer may be invited to the Pegasus Program, which provides:
No comments on this line yet.
+ 112
No comments on this line yet.
+ 113 • Up to $350,000 in total tech credits across Azure, GitHub, and LinkedIn
No comments on this line yet.
+ 114 • A dedicated Cloud Solutions Architect assigned to your startup
No comments on this line yet.
+ 115 • Direct connections to Microsoft enterprise customers for sales opportunities
No comments on this line yet.
+ 116 • Co-marketing and co-selling support
No comments on this line yet.
+ 117
No comments on this line yet.
+ 118 Pegasus is invite-only -- the Pegasus team monitors startups in the program and reaches out to those deemed a good fit based on solution area, maturity, traction, and team profile. You cannot apply directly.
No comments on this line yet.
+ 119
No comments on this line yet.
+
120
No comments on this line yet.
+ 121
No comments on this line yet.
+ 123
No comments on this line yet.
+ 124 Azure credits from this program cannot be used for:
No comments on this line yet.
+ 125
No comments on this line yet.
+ 126 • Non-Azure products
No comments on this line yet.
+ 127 • Third-party products from Azure Marketplace
No comments on this line yet.
+ 128 • Microsoft Support Plans (beyond the included Standard Support)
No comments on this line yet.
+ 129
No comments on this line yet.
+
130
No comments on this line yet.
+ 131
No comments on this line yet.
+ 133
No comments on this line yet.
+ 134 • Your Azure subscription converts to pay-as-you-go billing
No comments on this line yet.
+ 135 • Running services are not automatically stopped -- you will be charged at standard rates
No comments on this line yet.
+ 136 • Set up budget alerts in the Azure portal to monitor credit consumption
No comments on this line yet.
+ 137 • Track remaining credits at the Azure Sponsorship Portal
No comments on this line yet.
+ 138
No comments on this line yet.
+
139
No comments on this line yet.
+ 140
No comments on this line yet.
+ 142
No comments on this line yet.
+ 143 If you are not currently backed by an investor in the network, you can still access Azure credits through the Azure Startup Credit Offer:
No comments on this line yet.
+ 144
No comments on this line yet.
+ 145 • $1,000 in Azure credits immediately (valid 90 days)
No comments on this line yet.
+ 146 • $4,000 additional after business verification (valid 180 days)
No comments on this line yet.
+ 147 • No referral code required
No comments on this line yet.
+ 148 • Apply at azure.microsoft.com/startups
No comments on this line yet.
+ 149
No comments on this line yet.
+ 150 Once you secure funding from a participating investor, you can then apply for the investor offer to access the larger credit pool.
No comments on this line yet.
+ 151
No comments on this line yet.
+
152
No comments on this line yet.
+ 153
No comments on this line yet.
+ 155
No comments on this line yet.
+ 156 • The "Founders Hub" name is retired as of July 2025 -- the program is now simply called "Microsoft for Startups"
No comments on this line yet.
+ 157 • Expert Network and Champion Network sub-programs have also been retired
No comments on this line yet.
+ 158 • Credit activation clock starts when you activate, not when you are approved -- do not activate until you are ready to use the credits
No comments on this line yet.
+ 159 • Region matters for GPU availability -- check Azure region availability before planning AI workloads
No comments on this line yet.
+ 160 • Multiple investor codes can be submitted to support for evaluation, but you receive one offer allocation
No comments on this line yet.
+ 161 • No equity taken -- Microsoft does not take equity, require revenue share, or impose cohort participation
No comments on this line yet.
+ 162
No comments on this line yet.
+
163
No comments on this line yet.
+ 164
No comments on this line yet.
+ 165 Sources:
No comments on this line yet.
+ 166 • Microsoft for Startups Investor Offer Benefits
No comments on this line yet.
+ 167 • Microsoft for Startups Application Process
No comments on this line yet.
+ 168 • Microsoft for Startups Overview
No comments on this line yet.
+ 169 • Changes to Microsoft for Startups - July 2025
No comments on this line yet.
+ 170 • Microsoft for Startups Investor Network FAQs
No comments on this line yet.
+ 171 • Azure Credit Offer Details
No comments on this line yet.
+ 172 • Microsoft for Startups Portal
No comments on this line yet.
+ 173 • Microsoft for Startups Pegasus Program
No comments on this line yet.
+ 174 • OpenAI Credits Discussion - OpenAI Community
No comments on this line yet.