What is OpenAI for Startups?
OpenAI for Startups is OpenAI's program for founders building on its API. Every founder can use its guides, sessions and events; API credits, rate limit upgrades and a technical contact go to startups backed by a venture firm in OpenAI's partner network.
OpenAI's page sorts the program into three stages. Build is starter repos, Build Hours and technical guides. Grow is founder events and community programs. Scale is the one with money in it: “Unlock credits and dedicated support through eligible VC partners.”
Source: OpenAI for Startups page (openai.com/startups)
How much are OpenAI for Startups credits worth?
OpenAI does not publish an amount. Its page says a startup backed by a partner firm “may be eligible for benefits like free API credits” and sends founders to their VC to learn how to unlock them.
A dollar figure quoted for this program anywhere else is one firm's arrangement or a guess. The routes that do publish an amount are listed on this page, just above these questions.
Source: OpenAI for Startups page (openai.com/startups)
Who qualifies for OpenAI for Startups credits?
Portfolio companies of venture firms in OpenAI's partner network. OpenAI names Thrive Capital, Sequoia, a16z, Kleiner Perkins and Conviction Partners as examples and does not publish the full list.
If you are not sure whether your investor is a partner, OpenAI says to ask the firm: “They'll know if they're in our network and how to access OpenAI resources.” The page states no stage, revenue or country rule of its own. The gate is the investor.
Source: OpenAI for Startups page (openai.com/startups)
How do I apply for OpenAI startup credits?
Through your investor. OpenAI's answer to founders who ask for API credits is “Please reach out to your VC to learn how to unlock OpenAI API credits.” It publishes no application form for founders.
OpenAI adds “You won't need a pitch deck”. It asks for the organization ID when you apply, so create the OpenAI organization under your company, not a personal account, before you ask your investor.
What OpenAI says it will ask for
- A unique referral code from your VC
- A description of your product and how you plan to use the API
- Company name and key team contacts, including a valid business email
- Basic funding details
- Your OpenAI organization ID (platform.openai.com, Settings, Organization settings, General tab)
Source: OpenAI for Startups page (openai.com/startups)
What if my VC is not an OpenAI partner, or I have no VC?
A founder cannot apply for the credits directly. Two things are open: an investor can apply to join the partner network through OpenAI's VC Partnerships Application, and other companies' startup programs give credits that pay for OpenAI's models with no partner VC.
OpenAI describes the VC application this way: “This program is intended for venture capital firms backing startups that are actively building with AI.” Partner firms receive “OpenAI API credits, usage tier upgrades, exclusive access to events and resources, and more” for their portfolio, so sending the form to an investor who is not yet a partner costs you nothing.
The programs that work without a partner VC are listed on this page, just above these questions.
Source: OpenAI VC Partnerships Application (openai.com/form/vc-partnerships-application)
Do OpenAI startup credits expire, and what happens when they run out?
They expire, and the date is final: “OpenAI cannot extend the expiration date of purchased credits or credit grants.” When a grant is used up, OpenAI's startup page says “you'll automatically switch to standard billing”.
OpenAI's page links the credit grants screen of your organization to track usage. Granted credits are spent first: “If your account has free credits, those are used before purchased credits.” Because charges continue once a grant is gone, set a spend limit on the organization before a large grant lands.
Source: OpenAI Help Center: prepaid API billing (help.openai.com/en/articles/8264644-how-can-i-set-up-prepaid-billing), OpenAI for Startups page (openai.com/startups)
Is there a limit on how fast a startup can spend OpenAI credits?
Yes. “OpenAI sets an approved monthly usage limit for each organization”, and the limit follows the organization's usage tier, which rises with credits bought, not credits granted.
By OpenAI's table, an organization that has never bought credits is in the Free tier unless OpenAI upgrades it. The partner program lists rate limit upgrades among its benefits, so ask your investor for the upgrade together with the credits.
OpenAI's usage tiers
- Free: $100 a month
- Build, from $5 in total credit purchases: $500 a month
- Launch, from $100 in total credit purchases: $5,000 a month
- Grow, from $500 in total credit purchases: $200,000 a month
Source: OpenAI API docs: rate limits (platform.openai.com/docs/guides/rate-limits)
What does OpenAI give startups that have no VC?
Resources, not credits: Build Hours (live technical sessions), starter repos and cookbooks, founder events and roundtables, and the monthly Startup Drop newsletter.
Some events come with credits. OpenAI says it asks for your organization ID when you apply for credits “or at events where we give credits out, like hackathons”. It publishes no amount for them.
Source: OpenAI for Startups page (openai.com/startups)
Is there a ChatGPT startup program, or ChatGPT credits for startups?
Not for ChatGPT itself. OpenAI's startup offer is for building on its API: through a partner VC, a startup “may be eligible for benefits like free API credits, rate limit upgrades, and time with our solutions engineers”. OpenAI's startup page lists no startup discount or credit on ChatGPT plans.
Source: OpenAI for Startups page (openai.com/startups)
Can a startup get zero data retention from OpenAI?
Yes, on paid plans. OpenAI's startup page says you can request Zero Data Retention so that prompts and responses are not stored or used for training, and that it may limit some functionality such as personalization.
Source: OpenAI for Startups page (openai.com/startups)
