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The official docs page (updated May 2026) spells out the one fact that matters most for an Anywhere Founder with no VC on the cap table: you self-apply on the website, get starter credits immediately, and scale up to $150,000 as your Azure usage grows, no investor gatekeeping required. Decisions come in about three business days. This is the fastest non-dilutive money a bootstrapped Indian founder can unlock this week, and it stacks GitHub and Microsoft 365 on top.
What is Microsoft for Startups? (Founders Hub official overview)
From Microsoft Learn by Microsoft 8 min read
- Self-service tier needs no VC, no accelerator, no revenue: apply direct and start building on Azure credits while eligibility verifies
- Up to $150,000 unlocks over time against verified Azure usage; an Investor Network referral code unlocks the higher tiers earlier
- Hard limits: must be a software product you own, privately held, not past Series C, and under $350K lifetime free Azure credits, so apply early
