Google, AWS, Microsoft, and NVIDIA provide early-stage and growth startups with substantial cloud credits designed to cover servers, database instances, storage, and AI foundation model APIs. The largest single tier is offered by the Google for Startups Cloud Program: up to $350,000 over two years for venture-backed AI startups. None of these four global tech giants restrict applications by a rigid whitelist of countries, and Kazakhstani companies are eligible to apply directly online.
Applications across all four programs are reviewed on a rolling basis year-round, with no cohort cutoffs or seasonal deadlines.
1. Google for Startups Cloud Program: Up to $350,000
Google provides two main tiers of credits:
- Start Tier (Bootstrapped or Pre-Seed): Up to $2,000 in Google Cloud credits valid for two years, plus Google Workspace discounts and architectural support.
- Scale Tier (Funded / Venture-backed): Covers 100% of Google Cloud usage up to $100,000 in Year 1, and 20% of usage up to an additional $100,000 in Year 2.
- AI Startup Special Track: AI-first startups with institutional venture backing (up to Series A) can qualify for up to $350,000 in credits over two years, along with dedicated Google Cloud AI engineers, access to Vertex AI, and Gemini API compute credits.
2. AWS Activate: Up to $100,000 in Cloud Compute
Amazon Web Services runs the veteran startup support program AWS Activate:
- Activate Founders: For bootstrapped or self-funded startups with no institutional investors. Provides up to $1,000 in AWS promotional credits and $350 in developer support credits.
- Activate Portfolio: For startups affiliated with an approved accelerator, incubator, or venture fund (including Astana Hub, Plug and Play, 500 Global, and regional VC partners). Grants range from $10,000 up to $100,000 in cloud credits valid for one to two years, plus Business Support credits.
3. Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub: Up to $150,000
Microsoft offers a staged progression of credits without requiring venture capital backing at entry:
- Ideate Stage: $1,000 in Azure credits + OpenAI credits ($1,000) to experiment and prototype.
- Develop Stage: $5,000 in Azure credits upon creating a minimal functional architecture.
- Grow Stage: Up to $25,000 in Azure credits upon demonstrating user traction or product deployment.
- Scale Stage: Up to $150,000 in Azure credits for funded companies generating recurring revenue.
- Additional Benefits: Free access to GitHub Enterprise, Microsoft 365, LinkedIn Premium, and Azure OpenAI Service API allocations.
4. NVIDIA Inception: Hardware Discounts and Cloud Acceleration
NVIDIA Inception is a specialized acceleration program for AI, deep learning, data science, and robotics startups:
- No equity taken: NVIDIA does not take shares or warrant rights.
- Preferred hardware pricing: Discounts on NVIDIA GPU workstations, DGX servers, and edge computing kits (Jetson).
- Cloud credits via partners: Access to discounted compute and cloud credits across partner hyperscalers and specialized GPU cloud providers (CoreWeave, Lambda Labs, RunPod).
- NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute (DLI): Free access to developer training, technical consultations, and co-marketing opportunities at GTC.
Comparative Summary
| Program | Max Credits | Equity Taken | Key Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Cloud for Startups | Up to $350,000 | 0% | Seed / Series A funding for max tier |
| AWS Activate | Up to $100,000 | 0% | Accelerator or VC partner affiliation |
| Microsoft Founders Hub | Up to $150,000 | 0% | Staged progression based on product build |
| NVIDIA Inception | Varies + discounts | 0% | Building proprietary AI / GPU-accelerated tech |
Application Best Practices for Founders in Kazakhstan
- Corporate domain and website: Never apply with personal Gmail or Mail.ru emails. Use a custom domain email and an active, functional website in English.
- Clear cloud architecture description: Clearly specify which microservices, database clusters, or AI models will consume compute power.
- Astana Hub organizational IDs: If your startup is an Astana Hub resident or alumnus of Silkway Accelerator, use the institutional partner code to expedite approval on AWS Activate and Google Cloud.
