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Can't work with the credits I got from Microsft for Startups in Azure Portal

Isozaki,Isamu 20 Reputation points
2025-10-26T09:35:39.89+00:00

Hi. With the azure portal associated with this account I got 1k credits with Microsoft for Startups which I wanted to use for credits of LLM models like Open AI's models. For this I adding a Azure for OpenAI service but when creating a resource group(as I don't have one yet) I got a message that said I don't have access to create a resource group. Am I not allowed to work with LLMs in this program or is there another way of getting a LLM api key through here?

Azure OpenAI in Foundry Models

Answer accepted by question author

Nikhil Jha (Accenture International Limited) 4,335 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2025-10-27T10:36:16.1166667+00:00

Hello Isozaki,Isamu,

I can certainly clarify this for you. First, to answer your main question: Yes, you absolutely can use your $1K in startup credits to pay for Azure OpenAI models. Your plan is not the issue.

The error message you're seeing "I don't have access to create a resource group" is a standard Azure permissions (RBAC) issue.

The issue that i see is in your Account's Role assignment:

In Azure, to create any resource (like an OpenAI service), you must place it inside a resource group.
To create a new resource group, your user account must have the Owner or Contributor role on the subscription itself.

The error message strongly suggests your account currently has a more limited role, such as Reader. This is common if another person on your team (like the founder or admin) set up the Startups account and then added you to the subscription.

Recommendation that i would suggest for workaround:

Step 1:

You will need to contact the administrator (the Owner) of your Azure subscription. This is the person who likely received the acceptance email from the Microsoft for Startups program.

Ask them to perform these steps:

  • In the Azure portal, navigate to the Subscriptions service.
  • Click on your "Microsoft for Startups" subscription.
  • Go to the Access control (IAM) blade.
  • Click Add -> Add role assignment.
  • Assign your user account the Contributor role.

Once they do this, you will have the necessary permissions to create resource groups and any service you need, including Azure OpenAI.

Step 2: Apply for OpenAI Access

After you get the Contributor role, there is one more critical step. Access to the Azure OpenAI models (like GPT-4o) is gated to ensure responsible AI practices. Your credits do not bypass this one-time application.

Once you have permission to create resources, you must enable the OpenAI service on your subscription.

  • https://aka.ms/oaiapply After you are approved, you can create your Azure OpenAI resource, and your startup credits will be automatically applied to your usage.

I hope this is helpful. Kindly Accept and upvote answer for other community members remediation.

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