Request for Extension and Additional Credit in the Azure Startup Program

Question

Dear Support Team,

We’ve been part of the Azure Startup Program since late November 2024 and have actively explored your AI offerings over the past few months. However, during much of this period, the models relevant to our use case—specifically in medical and scientific NLP—were only available in demo mode with significant usage limitations. As a result, we were unable to leverage them for real production workloads.

Now that key models such as GPT-4.1, GPT-4o, and o4-mini are becoming available for production use, we're eager to integrate them into our infrastructure. However, we currently have only $6,506 in credits remaining and about five months left in the program. At our current burn rate, this budget will last us less than two months.

We understand from previous communication that eligibility for additional credits is tied to the level of AI service consumption. Given that the services we needed were not production-ready until recently, we’re hoping to request:

An extension of our participation in the Startup Program to allow us to fully utilize Azure AI now that the models we depend on are usable in production.

Clarity on the specific AI usage thresholds or requirements needed to qualify for additional credits.

Understanding these points is critical for our infrastructure planning. If additional credit or a timeline extension isn’t possible, we may need to explore alternative platforms to sustain our roadmap.

I’d be happy to provide more context or details if helpful.

Best regards,

JF Arbona
****@arcascience.ai

Answer 1

Hello @Jeff Arbona ,

According to the Azure Startup Program guidelines, eligibility for additional Azure credits is based on specific criteria. To qualify, your account must meet the necessary requirements, including completing all tasks listed in your verification checklist within the Founders Hub.

For startups with $5,000 or less in Azure credits, you can submit a request for additional credits directly through the Founders Hub portal. However, for accounts with $25,000 or more in credits, eligibility for further credits is evaluated based on your Engagement Score, which measures your active usage of Azure services.

Advancing to a higher level within the program (e.g., moving from Level 3 to Level 4) is the only way to extend both your credit allocation and program duration. This progression is dependent on your Engagement Score and consistent usage of Azure resources.

While specific thresholds for AI service consumption are not explicitly defined, actively utilizing your existing credits—particularly for production workloads—contributes to a higher Engagement Score and improves your chances of receiving additional credits.

We recommend making full use of your current benefits to demonstrate ongoing development and increase your eligibility, we recommend reaching out to Microsoft support for further assistance Submit Support Request.

Refer to the doc, Get More Benefits FAQ | Microsoft Learn

Please reach out to us if you have any other queries.

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