Startup Program

Deposit an upfront sum and Runware adds credits on top, up to $30,000. The more you deposit, the better the rate. Spend them on anything on the platform, from model APIs to serverless and compute.

Growth

Deposit $25,000, start with $35,000

Runware adds $10,000 in credits on top of your deposit.

+40%in credits on top of your deposit

  • $35,000 on your account from day one
  • Spend across the whole platform, from model APIs to serverless and compute
  • Credits do not expire
  • A direct line to the team

Best fit: Bootstrapped and pre-seed teams with a product in use.

ScaleBest value

Deposit $50,000, start with $80,000

Runware adds $30,000 in credits on top of your deposit.

+60%in credits on top of your deposit

  • $80,000 on your account from day one
  • Spend across the whole platform, from model APIs to serverless and compute
  • Credits do not expire
  • A direct line to the team

Best fit: Seed to Series A companies running AI in production.

Starter

Still bootstrapped or pre-seed? Apply anyway.

Up to $1,000 in free credits for bootstrapped and pre-seed companies. No deposit. Apply with the same form and pick Starter as your tier.

What we look for
Signs of a real, working product: a live app or beta, people using it, or usage you can show us.
What you get
Up to $1,000 in credits. The amount is not fixed: we score your application and award credits in $100 steps, so the more detail and evidence of traction you give us, the higher the award.
How long they last
Starter credits do not expire.

What we look for

We read every application. These four things decide most of them.

A real product

A live product or a credible MVP, in production or in beta. An idea on paper is too early.

AI inference at the core

Image, video, audio, 3D or language generation is a meaningful part of what you ship, not a side feature.

A company we can verify

A business email on your company's own domain and a live website. Applications from personal addresses are declined.

Ready to build now

You plan to integrate Runware in the coming months, and someone on the team is going to do it.

Eligibility by tier

  • Starter: bootstrapped or pre-seed, a working product, and not ready for a deposit.
  • Growth: bootstrapped or pre-seed, a product in use, and ready to commit a deposit.
  • Scale: seed to Series A, inference running in production, and real spend ahead.
  • Any tier: no later than Series A, and a Runware account, as that is where the credits are awarded if you are accepted.

How it works

01

Apply

Fill in the form below and pick the tier you want. It takes about ten minutes.

02

We reply by email

Usually within a week. If something in your application is unclear we ask rather than decline.

03

Build

Starter credits go straight onto your Runware account. For Growth and Scale you top up your account with the deposit and we add the bonus credits.

The rest of the platform

Runware also runs your own workloads, not only the models it hosts. Program credits apply across all of it.

01

Serverless

Run your own models, custom pipelines and fine-tunes as code or a container on serverless GPUs. Fast cold starts, scale to zero and per-second billing, for inference and training.

02

Dedicated compute

Reserved GPU capacity for training and inference, as bare-metal nodes and clusters or as guaranteed serverless capacity, on Sonic Pods across the US and Europe.

Apply to the Startup Program

Pick a tier, tell us what you are building, and we reply by email, usually within a week.

Who builds on Runware

The same API and the same infrastructure the credits run on.

  • OpenArt logo
  • Higgsfield logo
  • Runway logo
  • Freepik logo
  • Envato logo
  • NightCafé logo

Start building while you wait

You do not need to be approved to start. Sign up, try the models, and your application lands on a team that already knows what you are building.

01

Documentation

API reference, model schemas and integration guides for every modality on the platform.

02

Quickstart

Authentication and your first inference request, in a few steps.

03

Playground

Test models interactively before you wire them into your product.

Frequently asked questions

How much do I get?

Growth: deposit $25,000 and Runware adds $10,000 in credits, so you start with $35,000. Scale: deposit $50,000 and Runware adds $30,000, so you start with $80,000. Starter: up to $1,000 in free credits with no deposit, with the amount set by how we score your application.

How is the Starter amount decided?

We score each Starter application on the product, its traction and how clearly you describe where inference fits, and award credits in $100 steps up to $1,000. The more detail and evidence you give us, the higher the award.

How does the deposit work?

The deposit is a prepaid top-up on your company's Runware account, paid before any bonus credits are issued. The deposit and the bonus credits are not refundable and not transferable.

Do the credits expire?

No. Credits on every tier, bonus and Starter alike, do not expire.

Do I need to be venture-backed?

No. Starter and Growth are for bootstrapped and pre-seed teams; Starter needs no deposit. Scale is for seed to Series A companies with real spend ahead.

Is there a stage cut-off?

Yes. The program is for companies up to and including Series A. If you have raised beyond that, talk to sales about volume pricing and reserved capacity instead.

What can I use the credits for?

Every model on the platform: image, video, audio and 3D generation, image and video editing, and LLMs, all through one API at standard pricing.

Does Runware take equity?

No. The credits are equity-free.

How long does review take?

We reply by email, usually within a week. If we need more detail we ask for it rather than decline.

How do I get Growth or Scale?

Apply with the form on this page and pick the tier. We confirm the fit by email, you top up your account with the deposit, and we add the bonus credits.

What does Runware ask in return?

That you build, and that you keep us posted. As you grow we may ask to feature your product as a case study, or for a logo and a short quote. We agree all of that with you after you are in the program.