OpenAI for Startups

LLM 8.9/10

OpenAI offers early-stage startups API credits, typically accessed via a referral code from a partner VC or accelerator.

Free credit: $2,500
Credit window: 180 days
Card required: No

OpenAI for Startups scores 8.9/10 for free value in LLM. The main constraint: OpenAI API credits for eligible startups (amount discretionary; commonly accessed via partner programs such as Microsoft Founders Hub at ~$2,500). Requires a unique VC referral code.

Category LLM Kind Startup LLM credits Caveats Application page states a 'unique referral code from your VC' is needed; bootstrapped startups without a partner code generally cannot self-apply directly. Card required No Eligibility startups, approval required

Free value score

8.9 / 10

Show the math

Value 10/10

value = 2500 $ one-time

weighted score = 0.7 * 10/10

Model Quality 4.3/10

value = 24 artificial_analysis_score

weighted score = 0.2 * 4.3/10

Volume 10/10

value = 33692722372 tok/mo

weighted score = 0.1 * 10/10

Access 4/10

value = 4/10

score = 4/10

Key metrics

gpt-oss-120b 24 Best model

$2,500 Credit

Yes Commercial use

Models

3 free · 70+ total

Limits may be stale — last re-verified outside this section's freshness window.

Model	Family	AA	Access
gpt-oss-120b	GPT	23.8	free
gpt-oss-20b	GPT	14.9	free
omni-moderation	GPT	—	free
GPT-5.5	GPT	54.8	paid
GPT-5.4	GPT	51.4	paid
GPT-5.3-Codex	GPT	44.3	paid
GPT-5.2	GPT	42.2	paid
GPT-5.4 mini	GPT	40	paid
GPT-5.1	GPT	38.9	paid
GPT-5.4 nano	GPT	38.2	paid
o3-pro	GPT	32.5	paid
o3	GPT	30.4	paid
GPT-4.1	GPT	19.4	paid
GPT-4.1 mini	GPT	16.3	paid
GPT-4o mini	GPT	6.9	paid
GPT Chat Latest (gpt-chat-latest)	GPT	—	paid
GPT Image 2	GPT	—	paid
GPT-4o mini Transcribe	GPT	—	paid
GPT-4o Transcribe	GPT	—	paid
GPT-4o Transcribe Diarize	GPT	—	paid
GPT-5	GPT	—	paid
GPT-5 mini	GPT	—	paid
GPT-5 nano	GPT	—	paid
GPT-5 Pro	GPT	—	paid
GPT-5.2 Pro	GPT	—	paid
GPT-5.4 Pro	GPT	—	paid
GPT-5.5 Pro	GPT	—	paid
gpt-audio	GPT	—	paid
gpt-audio-1.5	GPT	—	paid
GPT-Realtime	GPT	—	paid
GPT-Realtime-1.5	GPT	—	paid
GPT-Realtime-2	GPT	—	paid
GPT-Realtime-Translate	GPT	—	paid
GPT-Realtime-Whisper	GPT	—	paid
text-embedding-3-large	GPT	—	paid
text-embedding-3-small	GPT	—	paid
TTS-1	GPT	—	paid
TTS-1 HD	GPT	—	paid
Whisper	GPT	—	paid

Showing first 3 of a larger catalog.

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What you get

Official page lists requirements: 'A unique referral code from your VC' plus a product description

First-party OpenAI API access

Often stacked with Microsoft Founders Hub for an additional OpenAI credit grant

Targeted at early-stage startups

Gotchas

VC referral code required

Applicants must supply a unique referral code from a VC or accelerator partner; bootstrapped startups without an eligible partner cannot self-apply directly.
Early-stage startup gate

The program explicitly targets early-stage startups; established or non-startup companies are not eligible.
Manual application and review

Applications require a product description and are reviewed by OpenAI; approval is not automatic or instant.
Finite credit pool (~$2,500 typical)

The most common grant is $2,500 in API credits (e.g. via Ramp or Microsoft Founders Hub); higher amounts up to $5,000 or more are possible through select accelerator partnerships but are discretionary.

Sources

"You're entitled to up to 1M (250k for tiers 1-2) tokens per day shared across gpt-5, gpt-5-codex, gpt-5-chat-latest ... gpt-4.1, gpt-4o, o1, o3 and o1-preview models, and up to 10M (2.5M for tiers 1-2) tokens per day shared across gpt-5-mini, gpt-5-nano, gpt-4.1-mini, gpt-4.1-nano, gpt-4o-mini, o1-mini, o4-mini, and codex-mini-latest models."
https://help.openai.com/en/articles/10306912-sharing-feedback-evaluation-and-fine-tuning-data-and-api-inputs-and-outputs-with-openai
"OpenAI benefits are no longer available through the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub program. This change is part of a broader update to Microsoft's partner benefit offerings"
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/2275712/is-openai-credits-available-as-part-of-startup-ben
"Up to $5,000 in OpenAI API credits — including the GPT-4o and ChatGPT API models — for venture-backed startups through OpenAI for Startups."
https://creditforstartups.com/credits/ai
"The most intelligent model available on OpenAI is GPT-5.5 (xhigh) with an Intelligence Index score of 55."
https://artificialanalysis.ai/providers/openai

startups openai gpt api-credits vc-referral

Open service Source ← All LLM

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