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Linode Rise

STARTUP PROGRAM

From your first test user to your millionth customer, receive infrastructure credits that you can use on affordable cloud infrastructure products, including virtual machines, GPU instances, and cloud storage. Join Rise, our cloud computing startup program.

Create Account Apply To Rise Startup Program

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SimSage
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Linode Rise Startup Program

Become a Linode Rise Member

Grow your startup with powerful and easy-to-use cloud infrastructure, cut your monthly cloud bills in half, plus these and other benefits.

Cloud Infrastructure Education for Startups

Infrastructure Credits

Qualify immediately for $500 in cloud infrastructure and earn up to $120,000 during your first year.

Cloud Infrastructure Advisory Services for Startups

Cloud Consulting

Leverage cloud architecture experts to help you build, launch, and scale your business.
Dedicated access to solution engineers to co-create the best solutions that drive profitability for you and your customers

IT Services

Cloud professionals offer guidance on architecture, migrations, and more ($250/hour value).
Cloud Infrastructure Community for Startups

Community

Connect with other program members, alumni, advisors, and Linode resources.
Cloud Infrastructure Support for Startups

Support

Prioritized 24/7/365 award-winning customer support via phone, email, or social media.
CUSTOMER STORY

"The Macrometa team has received the needed support to build the foundation and infrastructure to launch their company into the marketplace. "[The Linode, now Akamai, team] has been hands-on and fantastic to work with, and really gave us a lot of support to help us get started."

Macrometa
Read Customer Story

Process to Become a Linode Rise Member

Step 1

Download Rise Program brochure and then complete the application process.

Step 2

If your business qualifies, a Linode team member will schedule an interview with you to review your application.

Step 3

Following acceptance to the program, your credits are added to your Linode account and next steps are established with the program coordinator.

Linode Rise Membership Qualifications:

  • Current business has not previously been a part of the Linode Rise Startup Program.
  • Your business is established, is less than seven years old, has a company website, and corporate email. 
  • Your plans include Linode as one of the primary providers of your infrastructure.
  • If you are an existing Linode customer, you must plan on expanding workloads on Linode to qualify for Linode Rise.
Apply Now

Startup Success Stories

Durga Gokina, CTO and Head of R&D, and Chetan Venkatesh, Co-Founder and CEO of Macrometa
Macrometa

Bringing Innovation to the Edge

Macrometa receives the needed support from Linode to build the foundation and infrastructure to launch their company into the marketplace.
Databases
Rock de Vocht - SimSage
Rock de Vocht

AI Drives Customer-Centric Search

Through Linode's seamless connection with their preferred Linux operating system, Rock de Vocht moved SimSage's entire infrastructure to Linode.
Containers (Kubernetes, Docker)
Leo Cunha - Curriki
Leo Cunha

Open Source Digital Learning in the Cloud

Leo Cunha's prior relationship with Linode created "a perfect storm" to develop an open source tool as good or better than commercial products.
Compute

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Rise?

Rise provides a great opportunity for an early-stage company to build and scale in the cloud. From your first test user to your millionth customer, receive infrastructure credits that you can use on affordable cloud infrastructure products, including virtual machines, GPU instances, and cloud storage.

Who is eligible for Rise? How do you determine who is eligible?

  • You must be an early-stage company that is less than seven years old.
  • Revenue and company size are factors. We are looking for at least one of the following:  paid employees outside of founders; active users that are non-friends/family/investors; generating initial revenue.
  • Defined plan on how you will scale your infrastructure as the company grows.
  • Plans include Akamai as one of the primary providers of your infrastructure.

I am an existing customer. Do I qualify for Rise?

Sorry. Existing customers are not eligible for Rise. If you are an existing customer, you can fill out our Contact Sales form, and we can discuss any other potential programs with you.

What happens if I go over the monthly credit?

Glad you asked. If you exceed the monthly credit limit, we will charge you for the additional usage for that month.

Do I need to have a Linode account to sign up for Rise?

Yes. Before applying for Rise, you must create a new account for your startup with 1) the corporate email address associated with your company domain and 2) a valid credit card. For security reasons, applicants must include a working website and a matching corporate email address using a domain aligned with the corporate entity's web property. Please also make sure the account gets designated as a commercial account via having a corporate entity in the Company field.

Will there be any help with migrating my workload from other cloud providers?

Yes! We can help you with migration plans and offer our technical assistance to make the transition smooth and easy for you and your customers.

What types of companies are a good fit for Rise?

We welcome all startups, but since you asked, we prioritize SaaS, media, and gaming startups. Managed hosting providers, MSPs, system integrators, and other resellers are not eligible. If you are a reseller, please navigate to our Partner page for the application, and they can work with you on your eligibility.

What happens to my credits after the first year?

First-year credits and unused credits do not roll over month to month or subsequent years. Rise is a three-year program with discounts offered in years two and three.

Are there any other limitations on how I use the Rise credits?

Yes. We exclude bandwidth overages from your Rise credits.

Are there any other benefits besides free credits?

Wait. There’s more! We provide a dedicated account manager, access to our Customer Success team, and our Solutions Engineering team free of charge! Our Support Engineers are complementary and available 24/7/365.

Apply to the Rise Startup Program

Receive between $500 and $120,000 in cloud credits during your first year in Rise.
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By providing your email address or using a single sign-on provider to create an account, you agree to our Terms of Service and have reviewed our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. Note: GPUs are excluded from this promotion. A valid payment method is required. Credits expire 60 days from activation.