Claude, OpenAI or Google for Startups: which AI credits to request in 2026

In 60 seconds: Choose by actual access, the invoice covered and cost after credits. Claude’s current cohort is full; OpenAI routes credits through partner VCs. Google separates Start from Scale AI: the advertised maximum has specific requirements, and year two covers only part of usage. No amount is an approved balance. For a B2B startup in LATAM, start with the billing entity, the product already operating and the budget without a promotion.

Verified on October 17, 2026. Each table row links to official sources. Architecture and prioritization recommendations are Kiia’s editorial judgment; each provider decides admission.

Verdict by startup profile

Your situation	What I would assess first	What I would confirm before committing work
Unfunded	Google Start if you have an MVP and meet its requirements; OpenAI’s open resources	Start requires a company up to 24 months old, plans to seek VC funding and no prior Cloud credits beyond the trial. It is separate from Scale AI
Pre-Seed or Seed	Google Scale AI if Gemini underpins the product; your VC’s OpenAI or Claude route	Google requires a round within the past five years. Ask your fund which partner program it can activate today
Series A	Google AI if the round was within the past 12 months; offers from your VCs	Series A alone does not guarantee admission. Check incorporation date and previous Cloud credits
Already dependent on a provider	The offer that reduces your current invoice	Estimate the work to move data, tools and operations. A direct API credit may not cover your cloud endpoint

Google AI also requires a company founded within the last five years, no more than USD 5,000 in previous Google Cloud credits, and using or planning to use Gemini as a foundation of the product. Google retains selection discretion. Official requirements.

Claude’s current FAQ says the cohort is closed to new applications. It still mentions up to USD 100,000 in additional credits through a partner VC: ask the fund about availability without assuming an exception to the closure. For OpenAI, confirm that your VC belongs to its network. Official source.

This guide compares which credits to request. For application preparation, see Claude for Startups or OpenAI: credits vs resources. For operating agents, use Claude vs OpenAI in production. The comparisons hub brings the related decisions together.

Google for Startups vs Claude and OpenAI: credits table

All amounts are USD. “Up to” is a conditional ceiling. “Not published / verify” means the reviewed page does not set a universal term; request it in the written offer.

Criterion	Claude Startups	OpenAI for Startups	Google for Startups Cloud	Official sources
Maximum amount	Up to 100,000 additional credits through a partner VC; not a general grant	Not published / verify	Scale AI: up to 350,000; Start: 2,000	Claude, OpenAI, Google AI, Start
Requirements and access	Current cohort full; new applications closed. Ask about the partner VC route	Partner VC and referral code; admission subject to evaluation	Scale AI: Gemini as a foundation, eligible funding and company age; Start has separate entry requirements	Claude, OpenAI, Google AI, Start
Eligible usage	Direct API through Claude Console; excludes AWS, Google Cloud and Azure	API credits in the receiving organization; no promise of ChatGPT plans	Eligible Cloud services, Gemini and Gemma; excludes third-party models and services	Claude, OpenAI, Google AI, Cloud FAQ
Duration and expiry	Not published / verify in the award	Not published / verify in the award	AI: two years. Start: 12 months. Specific expiry is in writing or the console	Claude, OpenAI, Google AI, Start, Cloud terms
Usage limits	No universal numeric quota published; verify per model and account	Possible rate limit upgrades; numbers need confirmation	AI: year 1 covers 100% up to 250,000; year 2 covers 20% up to another 100,000. These are not technical quotas	Claude terms, OpenAI, Google AI
Support	Group Applied AI sessions and events for members	Open resources; possible technical support through a partner VC	Training and experts; verify contractual scope	Claude, OpenAI, Cloud FAQ
When credits run out	Not published / verify continuity and billing for your offer	Automatic switch to standard billing according to the FAQ	You pay for uncovered or excess usage; no guarantee of an exhaustion notice	Claude, OpenAI, Cloud terms
MCP status	Remote Messages API connector in beta	Remote MCP in the Responses API	Gemini API documents remote MCP in Interactions; verify the eligible Cloud endpoint	Claude MCP, OpenAI MCP, Gemini MCP
MCP authentication	Your application obtains and refreshes the OAuth token	Server authorization is separate from API access	Configurable server headers; verify destination credentials	Claude MCP, OpenAI MCP, Gemini MCP
Tool permissions	Per-tool configuration and access lists	allowed_tools and approval configuration	allowed_tools for remote MCP	Claude MCP, OpenAI MCP, Gemini MCP

MCP describes a technical integration, not an extra program benefit. Its presence in Gemini API does not establish that an endpoint consumes Cloud credits. Verify product, region, model and receiving account. For an agent writing to a CRM or ERP, we recommend minimal permissions, action logs and human approval for sensitive operations even while promotional balance is available.

Decision criteria: what changes the budget

Google: year two needs your own spending

The coverage percentage matters as much as the maximum. Under Scale AI’s schedule, the startup pays 80% of eligible usage in year two while the 20% benefit applies. Reaching that year’s credit cap would require USD 500,000 of eligible usage: this is arithmetic from the published percentage, not a forecast or a spending recommendation. Schedule source.

Do not move a workload to another model just to consume credits. Google’s FAQ excludes third-party services, including Marketplace offerings; access to Model Garden does not make every model eligible. Ask about the SKU that appears on your invoice.

Claude: check the status before following an older guide

The closed cohort changes the next step. Check the current page and use the newsletter to hear about reopening; the application guide linked above has its own review date. The advertised USD 45,000 Startup Stack consists of offers from other companies, not Anthropic API balance. Separate these benefits from any credit your VC confirms.

OpenAI: resolve the terms with no public number

The public page sets no universal maximum or validity period. Prepare the correct organization and intended product usage, then request the specific offer from your VC. Official route. An amount awarded to another startup or an earlier cohort does not establish your budget.

For all three, record the granted balance, activation, expiry, eligible services, effective limits and billing owner. Budget taxes and local currency separately where relevant to your entity; the table amounts are in USD.

How to assess several applications without provider dependence

You can explore several routes without migrating the product for each application. Benefit compatibility needs confirmation: Google’s terms restrict multiple promotional codes without written approval and allow restrictions on other Google Cloud promotions. We make no promise that programs can be stacked.

1. Inventory current invoices: direct API, cloud, database, external tools and observability. Assign each benefit to spending it can actually reduce.
2. Check official routes and ask your investors. Google’s FAQ requires an 18-character Billing Account ID and matching website, email and billing domains. For Claude and OpenAI, use the company’s organization, never a borrowed personal account.
3. Request written terms before accepting or redeeming anything. Track requested, approved and activated awards separately. Requested credits are not available balance.
4. Keep one adapter per provider around a bounded task, with your own input and output structure. Keep business rules and authorization over your systems outside that adapter.
5. Test the task with authorized data, identical acceptance criteria and prices without a promotion. Record errors, latency, retries and human review. Include the work of maintaining a second adapter.

For example, a B2B agent preparing a CRM update can share the proposal schema and human review across models. The final write goes through your authorized service. Changing the model should not change who can edit an opportunity. A fallback should not repeat a write already executed.

Use a second model when it solves an observed constraint. Maintaining three providers from the first pilot can add work without demand. A production decision deserves the Claude vs OpenAI agent comparison alongside this review of the financial benefit.

When to choose none

If you have no product in production yet, our recommendation is to postpone chasing the largest balance. Google Start accommodates teams with an MVP; that does not require maintaining several providers before validating one task. Run a test with a spending limit and name the person who evaluates the result.

Pause as well if you cannot identify an eligible invoice, if a migration is driven solely by a promotion, or if the workflow becomes unviable at full price. A process without permission to use its data needs that access resolved before credits are selected.

Before activating a benefit, document the budget without credits and the behavior when they run out: alerts, your own caps and understandable degradation for the user. Compare that decision with Kiia’s methodology and return to the comparisons hub for the next stack choice.