AWS Activate Program for Web3 Startups

# **What is AWS Activate?**

AWS Activate is Amazon Web Services' flagship program designed to help startups build and scale on the cloud easily, with a $100,000 funding pool in cloud credits.

Eligible Web3 projects receive **up to $10,000 in AWS cloud credits for each team, technical support, and training resources** to accelerate their infrastructure without upfront cloud costs.

# **Eligibility**

To qualify, your project must meet the following requirements:

| Requirement | Detail |

|----|----|

| Registered Company | Must be a legally registered entity (any country) |

| Funding Background | Has received external funding over $10,000 (seed, angel, VC, grants, hackathon prizes, or accelerator-backed) |

| Current AWS Spend | Accumulate of AWS usage since creation of account under $1,000 USD |

**Projects at any stage** — from pre-launch to growth — are welcome to apply, as long as the above criteria are met.

# **Credit Tiers by Sub-Industry**

**Tier 1 — Up to $10,000+ in AWS Credits**

For infrastructure-intensive and high-compute Web3 projects:

- **Infrastructure / Middleware** — Validator nodes, matching engines, low-latency trading systems

- **Layer 1 & Layer 2 Chains** — Consensus mechanisms, block production, RPC endpoints

- **DePIN** — Distributed physical infrastructure networks

- **DEX (Decentralized Exchanges)** — Order books, AMMs, liquidity aggregation

- **CeFi (Centralized Finance)** — Exchange platforms, custody, lending

- **Derivatives & Perpetuals** — Perpetual futures, options, structured products

These projects typically require significant compute, networking, and storage resources — making higher credit allocations essential for meaningful development and testing.

**Tier 2 — Up to $5,000+ in AWS Credits**

For application-layer and consumer-facing Web3 projects:

- **AI Agents** — Autonomous on-chain intelligence and automation

- **GameFi** — Game engines, virtual economies, player infrastructure

- **RWA (Real-World Assets)** — Tokenized real-world assets and compliance tooling

- **NFT Platforms** — Minting, marketplaces, metadata services

- **Social / SocialFi** — Decentralized social networks and community tools

- **Wallets** — Key management, multi-chain support, transaction services

- **DAOs** — Governance frameworks and treasury management

These projects leverage AWS for backend services, AI/ML workloads, content delivery, and user-facing applications.

# **How to Apply**

Simply Submit your application via DoraHacks and answer a few quick questions in the form. Once you’re qualified, the AWS representative will reach out to you.

# **What You Get**

Beyond credits, AWS Activate provides a comprehensive support package:

| Benefit | Description |

|----|----|

| AWS Credits | Applied directly to your AWS bill — use on any AWS service (EC2, S3, Bedrock, SageMaker, Lambda, etc.) |

| Technical Support | AWS Business Support included during the credit period |

| Architecture Guidance | Access to AWS Solution Architects for infrastructure design reviews |

| Training | Free access to AWS training resources and certification programs |

| Ecosystem Access | Introductions to AWS partner network, VCs, and enterprise customers |

**Why AWS for Web3?**

- **Global Infrastructure** — 33 regions, 105 availability zones worldwide

- **Lowest Latency** — Purpose-built instances (Graviton, Metal, z-series) for trading and validator workloads

- **AI/ML Stack** — Bedrock, SageMaker, Trainium chips for AI-native projects

- **Security & Compliance** — SOC, ISO, GDPR-ready — ideal for regulated markets

- **Proven at Scale** — Visa, Nasdaq, BlackRock, and leading crypto exchanges all run on AWS

*For questions or to start your application, contact [alanchem@amazon.com](mailto:alanchem@amazon.com) or TG @alanaws*