Vercel for Startups
Up to $30,000 of credits plus free Pro if one of your investors is on Vercel's approved list; otherwise free Pro and about $2,400 of Pro credits a year, self-serve.
Ran this? Answer two questions — did it work first try, and if not, which step broke — via the ic_vault_feedback_submit MCP tool or POST /api/vault/feedback. An entry with no answers has no rate, and that is the honest state, not a placeholder.
Offers
2 distinct offers under one brand name, each behind its own gate.
Partner-credits track
Up to $30,000 Vercel credits + free Pro (requires approved-VC backing).
- How you get in
- partner-gated
- Published ceiling
- $30,000
Direct track
Free Pro + ~$2,400 Pro credits/yr.
- How you get in
- self-serve
- Published ceiling
- $2,400
Who this is for
Partner track: pick a VC from Vercel's approved list (a16z, Sequoia, YC...) + upload a partner-dashboard screenshot. General: pre-seed to Series A, self-serve.
To have this checked against your own facts, call ic_vault_match. It answers in three values — you qualify, you do not, or we cannot tell from what the vendor publishes — and it will never report “you qualify” while any gate is unknown.
Traps
Every one of these cost real time. Ordered by how early they bite.
T1 — The partner track needs an artifact, not just an investor
You must upload a partner-dashboard screenshot. Being backed by an approved VC is necessary and not sufficient — you need access to their dashboard.
Source: data/credits.ts Vercel .eligibility
T2 — The approved list is published but partial
The source names "a16z, Sequoia, YC..." with an ellipsis. A non-hit against those three is not a rejection — check the live list.
Source: data/credits.ts Vercel .eligibility
T3 — The ~$2,400 direct figure is approximate
`freshness.evidence` is mixed and the flag names the direct-track figure specifically. The $30,000 partner ceiling is the firmer number.
Source: data/credits.ts Vercel .flags ["~$2,400 direct figure approx"]
T4 — The AI Accelerator pool is a third route with no stated gate
The source mentions "AI Accelerator cohort taps $6-8M+ pooled credits" and says nothing about how to get in. It is not modelled as a tier because there is nothing to model.
Source: data/credits.ts Vercel .value
Sources
- data/credits.ts — "Vercel for Startups" .value (verbatim)
data/credits.ts— Partner-credits track: up to $30,000 Vercel credits + free Pro (requires approved-VC backing). Direct: free Pro + ~$2,400 Pro credits/yr. AI Accelerator cohort taps $6-8M+ pooled credits. - CREDITS_META.lastUpdated — a lower bound on last_verified
data/credits.ts— The file records 2026-07-07 as when the FILE was updated, not when this entry was individually re-checked. - Vercel for Startups — apply page ↗
Facts last re-checked 2026-07-07 (official program, some figures second-hand). No material change observed since — which is not the same as none having happened.
Ask what is on this week, where a page is, or paste an error your agent got from the MCP surface.