Modal for Startups: Free GPU Credits for VC-Backed AI Startups

Modal for Startups gives VC-backed startups that are new to Modal a one-time grant of free compute credits for Modal's serverless GPU platform. You qualify for the Seed to Series A tier if you raised money from a fund in Modal's partner network, or more than $1M from any fund. Larger AI companies can get a custom grant. Modal doesn't publish the dollar amounts, and you need a payment method on file to use the platform.

What you get

• Program credits for compute on Modal: GPUs, CPUs, memory and other billed resources. Modal's page describes them as "thousands of free GPU credits" but does not give a fixed figure.
• Direct access to Modal's engineering team for technical support.
• Go-to-market help around launches and fundraises.
• An exclusive founder community with online and in-person events.

The size of the grant depends on your tier and Modal's review. Modal's FAQ includes the question "What tier will I get if I am accepted?", but the answer isn't on the public page. Credit amounts on third-party startup-perk sites vary and none are confirmed by Modal, so treat any specific figure you see elsewhere with caution.

The two tiers

Note the difference in the logic. For the early tier, either route works: partner-network money of any size, or $1M+ from anyone. For the scaling tier, the company must be large (over $30M raised or post-Series B) and have a partner VC. A Series C company with no partner-network investor does not meet the published rules for the custom tier.

Partner VCs

The startup page shows logos linking to Y Combinator, a16z, Sequoia, Khosla Ventures, Neo, HF0, Pear VC and Lux Capital. Modal's FAQ also covers "Who are Modal's VC partners?", which suggests the full list is longer than the logos shown. Investors can apply through a form on the same page to bring their portfolio into the network. If your investor isn't listed, ask them, because many funds hold perk agreements they don't advertise.

Edge cases

• Existing Modal users: the program is for companies that are new to Modal. If you have run serious workloads on Modal already, expect not to qualify.
• Bootstrapped or angel-funded companies: the published rules mention VC funding only. Without a partner fund or $1M+ in VC money, you don't meet the stated criteria.
• Reapplying: credits are a one-time grant per tier. Modal says you may not reapply once you have received credits in a given tier. The wording suggests a company that grows from Seed to post-Series B could be considered again for the custom tier, but Modal doesn't say so outright.
• Researchers and students: use Modal for Academics instead, which advertises up to $10K in platform credits for research projects.

How to apply

1. Sign up at modal.com and create a workspace for your company. Apply on behalf of a company workspace rather than a personal one, since that is where team usage and billing live.
2. Add a payment method. Modal's billing docs say you must have a payment method on file to use Modal. You add it under Settings > Usage & Billing > "Manage payment details", which opens a Stripe-hosted page.
3. Go to [modal.com/startups](https://modal.com/startups) and click Apply Now to reach the application form.
4. Give your funding details, including your lead investors, so Modal can check partner-network membership or the $1M threshold.
5. Wait for a response. Modal doesn't publish a review time. Its FAQ includes "I haven't heard back about my application. Who should I contact?", so there is a follow-up route if things go quiet.
6. Check your credits. Once approved, you can track usage and remaining credit in your workspace's usage and billing settings. Modal's FAQ covers "Where do I see the status of my credits?"

How credits and billing work

Modal bills every workspace monthly. Its billing docs say that at the end of each cycle you are charged for that cycle's usage, net of any credits. Workspaces on paid plans also pay the next cycle's subscription fee. Incremental charges can also happen mid-cycle the first time you cross certain usage thresholds. In practice, credits soak up your usage bill first and anything above them goes to your card.

Credits don't stop you overspending. Modal supports spend budgets at workspace and environment level. Set one when your credits land, so a runaway job or an always-on container doesn't run past your grant onto your card.

Plans and the free monthly allowance

Everyone gets the Starter plan's $30 a month, with or without the startup program. That is enough for real prototyping. Startup credits sit on top of this and matter once you run production inference or training.

What Modal compute costs

Modal bills GPUs per second while your code runs. Containers scale to zero, so idle time isn't billed unless you keep containers warm. Here are Modal's listed per-second prices, converted to hourly (× 3,600) and rounded:

CPU is $0.0000131 per physical core per second, memory is $0.00000222 per GiB per second, and network egress is $0.04 per GiB beyond the free allowance. GPU containers also use CPU and memory, which are billed on top.

Worked examples

• The free $30: at about $0.80/hour, $30 buys roughly 37 hours of an L4, or about 7.6 hours of an H100 at $3.95/hour, before CPU and memory charges.
• Bursty inference: an endpoint that keeps one H100 busy for 4 hours a day costs about 4 × $3.95 = $15.80 a day, or about $474 over 30 days. Because containers scale to zero, the other 20 hours cost nothing.
• A fine-tuning run: 8 × H100 for 10 hours is 80 GPU-hours × $3.95 ≈ $316 in GPU time.
• Always-on, for comparison: one H100 running 24/7 for 30 days is 720 hours × $3.95 ≈ $2,844. If your load is steady, check whether a reserved or dedicated option elsewhere costs less.

Getting the most from the grant

• Pick the smallest GPU that fits. An L4 or A10 serves many 7B–14B-parameter models at a fraction of H100 cost. Save H100s and B200s for work that needs them.
• Watch warm containers. Keeping containers warm cuts cold starts but bills while idle. Use it only where latency matters.
• Use the engineering access. Modal offers startups direct access to its engineers. Ask early about cold-start tuning, batching and GPU choice.
• Track the expiry. Modal's FAQ asks how long credits last and whether they can be reinstated if they expire, so the credits have a time limit. Check the date in your workspace once approved.
• Stack other programs carefully. Modal says AWS, Google Cloud and Azure credits can't be applied to Modal directly. Its pricing page does say eligible startups in AWS Activate can unlock additional Modal credits.

Alternatives and complements

For a full map of credit programs by stage, see how to get free AI credits.

History and recent changes

• Modal's startup page now lists two tiers, Seed to Series A and Scaling and Series B+, with eligibility tied to the partner network and funding thresholds. It no longer prints a fixed dollar figure.
• Startup credit applications have moved onto modal.com/startups. An older standalone application form now redirects applicants there.
• Modal's pricing page now lists separate startup and academic programs, plus extra Modal credits for eligible AWS Activate startups.

What Modal doesn't publish

The public pages don't give a credit amount for either tier, the exact credit lifetime, a review timeline, country restrictions, or what Modal checks to confirm your funding. Its FAQ lists questions on several of these, but the answers aren't shown publicly. Ask the Modal team if any of them affect your decision.