OpenAI for Startups
Free OpenAI API credits and rate limit upgrades for VC-backed startups
What you get from OpenAI for Startups for free
Overview
OpenAI for Startups is OpenAI's program for founders building on its models. Support flows through OpenAI's venture capital partner network: portfolio companies of partner firms can unlock API credits, rate limit upgrades, and direct access to OpenAI's startup team.
Program Credits & Benefits
- Free API credits for startups backed by VC partners in OpenAI's network. OpenAI does not publish a fixed credit amount on this page; the amount is determined through your VC partner.
- Rate limit upgrades and time with solutions engineers or other technical team members.
- Invitations to exclusive events and a direct line to the OpenAI Startup team.
- Builder resources open to any founder: Build Hours, starter repositories, the Startup Drop newsletter, and founder events.
- Zero Data Retention (ZDR) can be requested on paid plans so prompts and responses are not stored or used for training.
How to Apply
- Ask your VC whether they are part of OpenAI's partner network and how to access OpenAI resources.
- Request a unique referral code from them.
- Prepare your product and API usage description, company and team contacts, funding details, and your OpenAI Organization ID (found under Settings, Organization settings in the OpenAI platform).
- Submit the credit application. When credits run out, the account switches automatically to standard billing.
Before you claim
- Startups verification: Confirm your company details (age, funding, or website) to claim.
- Payment card: Not needed.
- Account: Sign up with the provider.
Key limits
- Free API credits, rate limit upgrades, and time with solutions engineers for eligible startups
- Eligibility determined via OpenAI's venture capital partner network
- No fixed credit amount published
Eligibility
Startups backed by participating VC firms. OpenAI names Thrive Capital, Sequoia, a16z, Kleiner Perkins, and Conviction Partners as examples. Applicants need a unique referral code from their VC, a description of the product and planned API usage, company name and key team contacts with a valid business email, and basic funding details.
Not eligible? 3 alternatives open to everyone
This offer is only for startups. These API credit offers have no student, startup, nonprofit or country requirement.
- Alibaba Cloud Model Studio Free Token Quota — About 1M free tokens per model for 90 days on Model Studio (Singapore)alibabacloud.com · Verified · No card
- Context.dev Free Plan — 1,000 free API credits every month for scraping, extraction, and brand dataContext.dev · Verified · No card
- NaraRouter Free Tier — 7M free tokens/day across three models via an OpenAI-compatible API routerrouter.bynara.id · Verified · No card
Check everything you qualify for — five questions, no signup.
Models served free
Limits as the provider publishes them; a dash means none is published.
| Model | Context | RPM | RPD | TPM | Tools | Vision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gpt-6-astraProgram credits are standard API credits; limits follow the org usage tier (program adds upgrades) | 1,050k | — | — | — | — | yes |
| gpt-6.1-solProgram credits are standard API credits; limits follow the org usage tier (program adds upgrades) | 1,050k | — | — | — | — | yes |
| gpt-6-solProgram credits are standard API credits; limits follow the org usage tier (program adds upgrades) | 1,050k | — | — | — | yes | yes |
| gpt-6-lunaProgram credits are standard API credits; limits follow the org usage tier (program adds upgrades) | 1,050k | — | — | — | yes | yes |
| gpt-5.6-solProgram credits are standard API credits; limits follow the org usage tier (program adds upgrades) | 1,050k | — | — | — | — | yes |
| gpt-5.6-lunaProgram credits are standard API credits; limits follow the org usage tier (program adds upgrades) | 1,050k | — | — | — | — | yes |
| gpt-image-2Program credits are standard API credits; limits follow the org usage tier (program adds upgrades); image generation, input text and image | — | — | — | — | — | yes |
| text-embedding-3-smallProgram credits are standard API credits; limits follow the org usage tier (program adds upgrades); embeddings | — | — | — | — | — | no |
History
Verified by a person on · last automated check : the page could not be read automatically. Automated findings never change this page until a person confirms them (how we verify).
- Verifiedby a person
- Listedby a person
Full history with screenshots · How we verified this offer · Sitewide changelog
Still works?
Work at openai.com? Add an aifree.dev badge
<a href="https://aifree.dev/offer/openai-for-startups"><img src="https://aifree.dev/badge/openai-for-startups" alt="OpenAI for Startups on aifree.dev" height="20"></a>[](https://aifree.dev/offer/openai-for-startups)Step-by-step guide
Appears in
More free API credits
Related offers
$200,000 in credits - Founders: up to $5,000 (start with $1,000; select participants may qualify for more)
Maximum of $150,000 in startup credits
$50,000 in credits - Build (up to $5M raised): up to $15K credits + 3 hours engineering
30M tokens/month on the free tier (input + output, incl. reasoning)
$200 credit valid for 30 days only
500,000 tokens/month - 80 requests/minute and 100,000 tokens/minute on the free plan