Azure Startup Credits: Founders Hub Guide & Help

It is Microsoft's startup program. Eligible startups apply on Microsoft's own site and can receive Azure credits, with further credits unlocked through self-serve milestones. ROSTAN Technologies is not Microsoft and cannot approve, grant or speed up credits; the startup applies itself.

Per Microsoft's pages: $200 immediately without a referral code, or $1,000 starter credits with an Investor Network referral code. Investor Network startups may receive up to $150,000 in total. Further credits unlock automatically through milestones: $5,000 after business verification, $25,000, $50,000 and $150,000 for sustained Azure workload usage (see the milestones table above). Amounts and rules are Microsoft's and can change.

Microsoft lists these conditions: you develop a software-based product or service the company owns; the company is privately held and for-profit; it is headquartered in a country where Azure is available; it has not received more than $350,000 in lifetime free Azure credits; and it is not Series C or later. Educational institutions, government organisations, consultancies and agencies are not eligible, and neither is crypto mining.

Microsoft does not list supported countries on the pages we checked, so we cannot say yes or no for you. Confirm availability in the sign-up flow on Microsoft's site before you invest time in preparation.

A personal consumer Microsoft account email (work, school or company-domain emails are not accepted), personal LinkedIn verification before the Azure account is created, business information that matches your legal documents exactly, and a card. Microsoft says it reviews applications within three business days.

They are automatic, with no separate application. $5,000 follows business verification (a registered legal entity). $25,000 needs at least 5 Azure workloads used for a sustained 60 days, $50,000 needs at least 7, and $150,000 needs 10 or more plus about $3,000 per month of Azure usage over 60 days. Each workload must stay above $1 of spend for all 60 days.

Business verification must be completed within 90 days of sign-up or when cumulative usage reaches $200. You must qualify for the third milestone within 180 days of business verification. At the $25K milestone there is a one-time two-year extension to use the credits. When credits are used up or expire, the subscription converts to pay-as-you-go.

We do not claim to be a Microsoft partner or reseller. The application is yours to submit on Microsoft's site. We help you prepare the information and documents, and we design and build the Azure workloads that the milestone rules require.

Those organisations cannot apply to Founders Hub under Microsoft's rules, so we will not suggest otherwise. We can still help with Azure delivery: architecture, deployment, migration and cost review on ordinary pay-as-you-go Azure.