If your business is a startup, you may be sitting on tens of thousands of dollars in free cloud credit you haven't claimed yet. Here's how the program actually works.
Microsoft for Startups (the program behind "Founders Hub") gives qualifying startups free access to Azure cloud credit, plus extras like GitHub, Microsoft 365 and access to AI models — without requiring you to already be a Microsoft customer. The idea is simple: get startups building on Azure early, before cloud costs become a real budget line.
| Startup profile | Typical credit |
|---|---|
| Any startup, self-applying | An entry-level amount to start building |
| Verified business with usage history | An increased amount after verification |
| Investor-backed, in the Investor Network | Up to US$150,000 |
Tiers and amounts are set by Microsoft and do change — confirm current figures on Microsoft's own startup program pages before you apply or budget around them.
Free credit is only useful if it's spent on something that actually moves the business forward — a production environment, a proof of concept for a customer, or infrastructure you were going to build anyway. Questions worth answering before you apply:
If the honest answer to question 2 is "we'd need help," that's exactly where a managed Azure partner earns its keep — turning free credit into a properly architected environment instead of an expensive experiment. See our guide to Azure migration and application modernization for what a structured build actually looks like.
No — that top tier is for startups affiliated with the Microsoft for Startups Investor Network, generally meaning investor-backed companies. Bootstrapped startups can still apply and typically start with a smaller credit amount, which can grow after business verification.
Yes, current Azure credits under the program expire 12 months after they're issued. Unused credit doesn't roll over, so it's worth planning what you'll actually deploy before applying.
The program itself doesn't require giving up equity to receive credits — always confirm current terms directly on Microsoft's own startup program pages before applying, as eligibility criteria and tiers can change.
Talk to our team — we'll help you architect a setup that makes the most of every dollar before it expires.
