Free AI compute, found and checked. Who qualifies and the catch, up front.
API credits, free inference tiers, startup programs and research grants from the frontier labs and the long tail. Every offer is checked against the provider’s own page: value, eligibility, limits, deadline, fine print.
VC-backed startups building on Gemini can get up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits over two years.
For: Startups that raised Pre-Seed/Seed within 5 years (or Series A within 12 months), founded within 5 years, built on Gemini, with under $5,000 in prior Google Cloud credits
Accepted researchers get free access to Cloud TPUs from a pool of 1,000+ devices.
ML researchers worldwide
Catch: You are expected to share results (papers, code or blog posts) and give feedback to Google. Acceptance is not guaranteed and no allocation size is published on the page.
US researchers and educators can request compute, models and platform resources for 12-month AI research projects.
US-based researchers and educators at US institutions, non-profits and agencies; institutional email required
Catch: Personal email addresses (e.g. gmail) are rejected. Open until the pilot ends or resources are committed; NSF announced a NAIRR Operations Center in September 2026, so check the portal for the current call status. Each resource has its own eligibility rules.
Faculty, research staff and graduate students can apply for AWS promotional credit; student awards go up to $5,000.
Full-time faculty, research staff, and grad/PhD students at accredited research institutions
Catch: Reviews typically take 90-120 days with no expedited option. Aimed at finite projects: cloud-hosted public tools, proof-of-concept benchmarks, or training workshops.
AI safety and alignment researchers can apply for $1,000 in free Claude API credits.
Researchers working on AI safety and alignment topics Anthropic considers high priority
Reviewed monthly
Catch: Thousands of applications arrive and unsuccessful ones get no reply. Credits are for the API only, not the Claude web app, and usage policies still apply. No fine-tuning access.
Researchers studying responsible AI deployment and societal impact can apply for up to $1,000 in OpenAI API credits.
Researchers in API-supported countries studying safe deployment, mitigation and societal impact of AI
Credits valid 12 months; quarterly review
Catch: Applications are reviewed once every 3 months (March, June, September, December). Credits take 4-6 weeks to arrive and expire after 1 year with no extension. The application runs through SurveyMonkey Apply.
European SMEs and startups can apply any time for 1-3 months of AI Factory supercomputer access, granted within 2 working days.
Industry users: European SMEs and startups, new or entry-level users
1-3 month allocations
Catch: Industry only; academia and public-sector users should use the AI for Science access mode. Limited to one system per request, partitions can be unavailable, and there is an eligibility and technical check. Cost terms are in the Terms of Reference PDF.
Qualifying open-source maintainers and contributors can apply for 6 months of Claude Max 20x at no cost.
Open-source maintainers, core contributors, active contributors or maintainers of critical infrastructure
6 months
Catch: After 6 months the subscription ends; a prior paid plan resumes at its old rate unless you cancel, otherwise you return to Free. Not a guaranteed grant: apply even if you only nearly fit and Anthropic decides.