Two very different kinds of "free"
Startup programs fall into two buckets. The first gives you raw capacity: cloud compute, API credits, database tiers. The second gives you finished capability: something that does a job the day you switch it on. Founders often apply to the first when what they urgently need is the second.
The 2026 landscape at a glance
| Program | What you get | Work required to get value | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google for Startups Cloud | Cloud & AI credits | Engineers must design and deploy workloads | Technical, funded teams |
| Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub | Azure + OpenAI credits, tooling | Developer build required | Technical teams on Azure |
| AWS Activate | AWS credits and support | Cloud architecture work | Infra-heavy products |
| NVIDIA Inception | GPU pricing, technical training | ML engineering | AI model builders |
| OpenAI / Anthropic credits | API credits | You build the application | AI product teams |
| HubSpot for Startups | CRM discount | CRM setup and ongoing ops | Teams with a sales motion already |
| Stripe Atlas | Incorporation and banking setup | Paperwork | Founders incorporating |
| Notion / Airtable / Atlassian | Workspace credits | Internal setup | All teams |
| DigitalOcean Hatch | Hosting credits | Deployment work | Small technical teams |
| Twilio / MongoDB startup tiers | Messaging and database credits | Developer integration | Product engineering |
| Accelerators (YC-style) | Cash and network | Full-time programme, equity given up | Teams raising venture capital |
| MAZ Assist Startups | A working AI Sales or AI Hiring Employee, free 3 months | Paste a URL, embed a snippet — no developer | Non-technical founders and lean technical teams |
Why credits often go unused
Credits expire. A $100,000 cloud grant is worth nothing to a two-person team that hasn't built the workload it would run. Meanwhile the same team is losing inbound leads every night and skimming CVs at midnight. That is a revenue problem, not an infrastructure problem.
Where MAZ Assist is genuinely better — and where it isn't
- Better: time to value. Same-day setup with no engineering, versus weeks of build before credits do anything.
- Better: outcome you can measure — leads captured, meetings booked, candidates screened.
- Better: no equity, no long-term contract, no full-time cohort commitment.
- Not better: if you need GPUs, hosting or an API to build your own product, take the cloud credits — they're the right tool and you can run both.
Which should you apply to first?
If your bottleneck is building the product, start with cloud credits. If your bottleneck is selling it or staffing the team, start with a finished AI Employee. Most founders eventually need both — the sequence is what matters.
Who can apply
- A physically present, legally registered company in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, UAE or India (US startups are prioritised).
- A company-domain email address — Gmail, Outlook and other free providers aren't accepted.
- Fewer than 25 employees and not already a paying MAZ Assist customer.
- A live website or product page, so your AI Employee has somewhere to work.
Applications are reviewed and answered within 15 days: either an approval with activation steps, or a note on what's still missing. Apply to the MAZ Assist Startups program.