Akamai Rise Program: Akamai Cloud (Linode) credits for start-ups

What you get

• Between $500 and US$120,000 in cloud credits during the first year
• Discounted cloud services in years two and three
• Cloud consulting and architecture/migration guidance from solutions engineers (Akamai values this at $250/hour)
• A dedicated account manager and prioritised 24/7/365 support, plus community access

Eligibility

• Early-stage, for-profit company less than seven years old that is new to Rise. Existing Akamai Cloud customers are not eligible
• Shows at least one of: paid employees beyond the founders, real non-friends/family users, initial revenue, or VC funding
• Has a defined plan to scale with Akamai Cloud as a primary infrastructure provider
• Managed hosting providers, MSPs, system integrators and resellers are excluded

How the Akamai Rise program works

Credit types and validity

• $500–$120,000 in cloud credits in year one
• Discounted cloud services in years two and three
• Solutions engineering: architecture and migration guidance
• Dedicated account manager, Customer Success access and prioritised 24/7/365 support

How the credits are applied and when they expire

First create a new Akamai Cloud account with your corporate-domain email, a valid credit card and your legal entity in the Company field, then submit the Rise intake form. Qualified start-ups get a short discovery call; after acceptance credits are added to your account. Credits are monthly: usage above the monthly credit is charged, and unused credits do not roll over month to month or into later years. Years two and three are discounts, not credits.

Approval time

Status update within two weeks; most applications reviewed in one to two weeks

For founders in India

No India-specific terms published. Eligibility is the same worldwide; you need a corporate email on your own domain and a valid credit card to open the required Akamai Cloud account.

How to apply, step by step

1. Create a new Akamai Cloud account using your corporate email and a valid credit card, and enter your legal entity in the Company field so it is marked as a commercial account
2. On akamai.com/cloud/start-ups/rise, click 'Apply to Rise program' and complete the intake form (required fields are marked *)
3. Akamai reviews it and sends a status update within two weeks. Most decisions take one to two weeks
4. Qualified startups are invited to a short discovery call
5. After acceptance, credits are added to your Akamai Cloud account and a programme coordinator sets out next steps

Documents and details to keep ready

• Working company website
• Corporate email on the same domain as the website
• Akamai Cloud account with a valid credit card and company name
• Details about your startup and cloud needs (Akamai's description of the intake form)

Common reasons applications are declined

• Existing Akamai Cloud customer or previously in Rise
• Older than seven years or not a for-profit company
• No traction signal (paid staff beyond founders, real users, revenue, or VC funding)
• Managed hosting provider, MSP, systems integrator or reseller
• No plan to use Akamai Cloud as a primary infrastructure provider

Tips before you apply

• Use a corporate email on the same domain as your live website when creating the account
• Enter your legal company name so the account is flagged as commercial
• Show clear traction (paid staff, users, revenue or VC funding) in the intake form
• Track monthly usage, since overage beyond the monthly credit is billed and unused credit is lost

Terms to know

• Credits do not roll over month to month or into later years. Usage above the monthly credit is charged
• Years two and three are discounts, not credits