Best offer on record: YC AI Stack (a.k.a. YC AI Student Starter Pack) — student program. 8 verified findings, checked 2026-10-22.
Live check of “OpenAI API credits for YC startups”:Partly confirmed
OpenAI does provide API credits to YC companies - YC's official site states every accepted YC company gets access to "$12M+ in free credits and deals" from partners including OpenAI - but the current terms (as reported in July 2026 and unchanged as of 2026-10-22) are $500,000 in free credits with no equity required, plus an optional additional $1.5 million in credits only in exchange for equity via an uncapped SAFE (up to $2 million total). The $1.5M figure is therefore the equity-linked tranche, not a no-strings free credit, and the earlier May 2026 offer of $2M entirely for equity was limited to the Spring/Summer 2026 batches (summer deadline extended to May 25, 2026); neither YC nor OpenAI publishes per-provider amounts publicly (the deal list is behind Bookface login).
Live check of “Google Cloud / Gemini credits for YC startups”:Partly confirmed
Google Cloud's published offer for YC startups is up to $350,000 in Google Cloud/Gemini credits over two years via the Google for Startups Cloud Program AI Scale Tier (up to $250,000 in year one, plus 20% of year-two spend up to a further $100,000), plus $12,000 in Google Cloud Enhanced Support credits for one year and a year of free Google Workspace Business Plus; non-AI startups get up to $200,000. The $500,000 figure does not appear in Google's published YC terms — it comes only from July 2026 WSJ reporting quoting a Google Cloud spokesperson about startup credits generally (up to $500,000 plus Gemini early access) — and the program remains open to new applicants as of October 2026, with eligibility of Pre-Seed to Series A, founded within the last five years, and no more than $5,000 in prior Google Cloud credits.
YC AI Stack (a.k.a. YC AI Student Starter Pack) — student program high confidence
Bundle of free credits from ~20 partners for students who attend a YC university event (in person, starting Fall 2025). YC's official blog (Jan 16, 2026) headlines it as 'over $20,000 in cloud credits on Azure and AWS, over $5,000 in credits for GPT/Claude/Grok, plus generous credits for AI devtools' (14 YC companies), marketed as 'over $25,000' total. The live deals page deals.ycombinator.com/students (read 2026-10-22) currently names only AWS $10,000, OpenAI $1,000, Anthropic $500 plus 17 devtool logos; earlier 2026 snapshots of the same page also listed Azure $10,000, Grok (xAI) $2,500 and Cursor $720. Per-provider amounts are still fluctuating as YC 'rolls this out.'
Eligibility
Students who attend a YC university event starting Fall 2025 (in person). No startup, company or funding requirement. No .edu-domain check and no credit card required per the page. Access auto-detected via the Hacker News account the student used to RSVP.
How to claim
1) Attend a YC university event and RSVP via Hacker News account; 2) receive the confirmation email after the event; 3) sign in at https://deals.ycombinator.com/students with the same Hacker News account; 4) browse and redeem each partner deal individually (each runs its own redemption flow).
Expiry
Access lasts one year from the date of the qualifying event. Each partner's credits carry their own expiry. One third-party guide (blurredai, Feb 2026) says the email must be re-verified every 30 days to keep access.
Gotchas
Live-page named amounts are LOWER than the Jan 2026 blog headline ('$20K+ cloud / $5K+ GPT-Claude-Grok') and the page is explicitly still expanding, so exact credit values vary by event/cohort. Devtool per-tool dollar caps are not published. Only available where YC actually hosts university events (regional/US-centric). No .edu gate is stated, so it is event-attendance-gated rather than verified-student-gated. Secondary claim URL: https://deals.ycombinator.com/students
YC Startup Credits Program (VC-funded umbrella for YC batch companies) high confidence
YC's official apply page states 'Each YC company gets access to $12M+ in free credits and deals from top partners, including OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Stripe, and a long list of others.' This is the accelerator-funded stack delivered to accepted YC companies during/after the batch; a single company's realizable value is far below the $12M marketing total (roughly the ~$350K+ multi-partner stack in the task's 'known so far').
Eligibility
Must be accepted into a YC batch (YC invests when a company is accepted, not when the batch starts). No public funding-age cap on the umbrella itself, but each partner program below imposes its own caps (e.g. AWS pre-Series B, <10 yrs old).
How to claim
Be a YC batch company -> receive partner Org IDs / promo codes during YC onboarding -> apply through each partner's portal -> redeem the YC-partnered deals through the sign-in-gated deals portal (account.ycombinator.com / YC company account at deals.ycombinator.com).
Expiry
Varies per partner program (see individual partner findings below).
Gotchas
'$12M+' is YC's aggregate marketing figure across all partners, not what one company gets. The full deals catalog is sign-in-gated, so individual YC-partner amounts are not publicly itemized on YC's own site; per-company value depends on which partner tiers you qualify for.
AWS Activate credits for YC startups medium confidence
Up to ~$500,000 in AWS Activate credits for eligible YC batch companies (the $500K level was confirmed for the W24 cohort), typically split ~$200K general cloud + ~$300K AI silicon (Trainium/Inferentia, Amazon Bedrock incl. third-party FMs, reserved H100). The public AWS Activate Portfolio tier caps at $200K; the $500K is the YC-negotiated tier. As of 11 May 2026 AWS Activate credits became redeemable for third-party models on Amazon Bedrock.
Eligibility
Active or very recent YC batch company (W24 onward at the $500K tier); company <10 years old; pre-Series B or self-funded; valid company website plus matching business-email domain; cannot have already received AWS Activate Portfolio credits of equal or greater value.
How to claim
Receive the YC Org ID from YC onboarding (Y Combinator is a designated AWS Activate Provider) -> create/sign in an AWS Builder ID -> apply for Activate Portfolio with the YC Org ID -> link your AWS account; expect a ~5-10 business day review.
Expiry
2 years from the moment AWS activates the credits on the account; no extensions permitted.
Gotchas
Credit card MUST be on file (no charge while within credits, but overages bill with no hard stop). Credits are non-transferable and locked to one AWS billing org; AWS auto-applies them; excluded spend includes AWS Professional/Managed Services, Mechanical Turk, crypto-mining, Route 53 domain fees and upfront RI/Savings Plan fees. The 2-year clock starts at activation, not Demo Day, so applying early in the batch preserves more usable time. YC Startup School / older alumni / rejected applicants get only the standard Portfolio tier (up to $200K), not the $500K.
OpenAI API credits for YC startups medium confidence
OpenAI overhauled its YC startup program in 2026: up to $500,000 in API credits with NO equity requirement, plus an optional ~$1.5M additional tranche in exchange for equity stakes. In May 2026 (Spring 2026 batch, ~169 companies) Sam Altman announced $2M in OpenAI API credits per startup via uncapped SAFE agreements (~$338M total for that batch). Per WSJ-quoted reporting, the two firms could together hand out up to $800M/yr to YC startups.
Eligibility
YC-backed / YC batch startups. The $500K tier has no equity requirement; the $1.5M and $2M amounts require signing equity (SAFE) agreements.
How to claim
Arranged through YC's partnership with OpenAI and distributed via YC onboarding / the YC deals portal, not a self-serve public application.
Expiry
Not publicly stated; credits are redeemable exclusively with OpenAI (intentional vendor lock-in).
Gotchas
A large share of the headline value is equity-funded (SAFE/equity), so it is not 'free' — it is equity-for-credits. Credits usable only on OpenAI models. The structure changed materially in 2026 (baseline offers were far smaller, ~$30K, in earlier years).
Anthropic (Claude) credits for YC startups medium confidence
Anthropic raised its standard YC credit offer in 2026 from $30,000 to $500,000 per YC startup, with NO equity requirement — explicitly pitched as the founder-friendly counter to OpenAI's equity-based offer (a ~16x increase).
Eligibility
YC-backed / YC batch startups. No equity requirement for the $500K tier.
How to claim
Arranged through YC's partnership with Anthropic and distributed via YC onboarding / the YC deals portal.
Expiry
Not publicly stated; usable on the Anthropic API (and, for some stacks, via AWS Bedrock / GCP Vertex AI where Anthropic models are hosted).
Gotchas
The jump from $30K to $500K happened in 2026. Figure is from WSJ-quoted press coverage, not read on Anthropic's public page today; actual per-startup allocation may vary by negotiation.
Google Cloud / Gemini credits for YC startups medium confidence
Google Cloud is now handing out up to $500,000 in GCP credits to YC startups, plus early access to new Gemini models and occasional access to DeepMind engineers. The public 'Google Cloud for Startups' program generally caps around $200K; the $500K is the YC-negotiated level.
Applied via YC's Google Cloud partnership; GCP for Startups application with YC as the referring provider.
Expiry
GCP startup credits are typically good for ~12 months.
Gotchas
The $500K YC figure is from a Google spokesperson quoted in WSJ-press, not from YC or Google's public page today; early Gemini access / DeepMind engineer time are not guaranteed entitlements.
Microsoft Azure credits for YC startups low confidence
Microsoft for Startups (Founders Hub) offers up to ~$150,000 in Azure credits unlocked across milestone tiers, plus free GitHub Enterprise, Visual Studio and Microsoft 365, with Azure OpenAI model access included. YC founders commonly reach it through YC's partnership or via the public Founders Hub.
Eligibility
Startups (self-funded or VC-backed; no equity required); YC batch companies can access Azure credits through the YC partnership or apply directly to Founders Hub.
How to claim
Apply through Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub, or receive Azure credits via YC partner onboarding.
Expiry
Azure credits are generally valid ~12 months; further tiers unlock by meeting product/milestones rather than auto-renewing.
Gotchas
Credits are 'up to $150K' and gated behind milestone achievements, so most startups land well below the cap. Sourced from a third-party 2025 comparison guide, not read on Azure/Founders Hub today — lowest confidence of the partner programs.
YC AI devtools bundle (voice / browser / search / video / DB) medium confidence
14-17 YC devtool companies provide free AI devtool credits bundled into both the YC AI Stack (students) and the YC startup deals portal: Firecrawl, Exa, Vapi, Browser Use, Reducto, Gumloop, Deepgram, Greptile, Supabase, AgentMail, Langfuse, sync., Coinbase, Roboflow, Tavus, Blaxel, Bolna AI, Respan and Cursor ($720 in one student snapshot). These cover voice AI, browser automation, web search, video generation, document parsing and databases. Per-tool dollar caps are not published on the YC page.
Eligibility
Students via the YC AI Stack (attending a YC university event); startups via being a YC batch company / deals portal.
How to claim
Sign in to https://deals.ycombinator.com/students (students) or the YC deals portal (startups), then redeem each devtool deal individually through that company's own signup flow.
Expiry
Varies per tool; YC does not publish per-tool expiry dates.
Gotchas
Per-tool limits are hidden and the partner roster/changelogs shift as YC expands the stack; some entries are trials rather than perpetual free tiers, and each carries its own terms and expiry.
2025: YC reportedly REMOVED the public "YC Startup School Deals & Offers" page (per startcamp.com, Feb 2025). Startup deals moved behind sign-in at deals.ycombinator.com, so YC Startup School members no longer automatically get the old public AWS $5K (non-China) / $1,500+3K rebate (China) tier; that older startup-school AWS deal is effectively retired. 2025-2026 partner CREDITS CHANGES (all EXPANSIONS, no partner program was sunset): (a) Anthropic raised its YC offer from $30K to $500K, no equity; (b) OpenAI overhauled to $500K no-equity + optional $1.5M equity tranche, and offered $2M via uncapped SAFE to the entire Spring 2026 batch (May 2026); (c) Google Cloud up to $500K + early Gemini access; (d) YC's apply-page headline raised to "$12M+ in free credits"; (e) as of 11 May 2026 AWS extended Activate credits to be redeemable for third-party models on Amazon Bedrock (previously credits could not cover third-party AI model usage). Student PROGRAM CHANGES: the YC AI Student Starter Pack was rebranded the "YC AI Stack" and is being 'rolled out' to more students in 2026; the live deals page's named credit amounts have rotated down from the Jan 2026 blog headline ($20K+ cloud / $5K+ GPT-Claude-Grok to currently ~$10K AWS + $1K OpenAI + $500 Anthropic + devtools), so the per-provider figures are moving. No genuine YC-branded free-tier or education-LICENSE program (in the software sense) exists — YC is a VC/accelerator, so all 'offers' are partner credit bundles delivered through YC.