If you’re a student, indie hacker, or early-stage founder, this is a 100% official way to get serious cloud + AI credits — no hacks, no fake emails.
🚀 What You Get
- 💰 Up to $5,000 Azure Credits
- 🤖 Up to $2,500 OpenAI usage (via Azure OpenAI)
- ☁ Compute, storage, serverless, GPUs
- ⚡ GPT-4 / GPT-4o / embeddings access (region-dependent)
✅ Step-by-Step (Official Method)
1️⃣ Join Microsoft for Startups
Choose: Self-Service → Get started quickly
2️⃣ Use a Personal Microsoft Account
✔ Outlook / Hotmail / Live
❌ Work or school accounts won’t work
3️⃣ Get $1,000 Azure Credit Instantly
- Complete onboarding
- Azure Sponsorship subscription is auto-created
Check:Azure Portal → Subscriptions → Azure Sponsorship
4️⃣ Verify with LinkedIn
- Click Verify with LinkedIn
- Approve access (takes ~1 minute)
5️⃣ Add Billing Method (No Charge)
- Debit/credit card required only for identity verification
- No money is deducted
6️⃣ Unlock Full $5,000 Azure Credits
- Azure Portal → Startup → Verify your startup
- Submit basic startup info
- Credits upgrade after approval
7️⃣ Enable $2,500 OpenAI Credit
- Microsoft for Startups Portal
- Benefits → Perks → OpenAI for Startups
- Complete Azure OpenAI onboarding
➡️ OpenAI usage is provided via Azure OpenAI Services
🛠 What You Can Build
- AI chatbots & agents
- SaaS tools & APIs
- EdTech platforms
- GPT-powered apps
- Full cloud backends.
⚠️ Important Notes
- ✅ Official Microsoft program
- ❌ Not free cash (usage credits only)
- 🌍 OpenAI credit amount may vary by region
- ⏳ Credits expire, so use them actively