OpenAI for Startups

AI for ambitious builders

You’ve got the vision. OpenAI gives you the tools, resources, and community to bring your big idea to life.

You dream big. We’ll help you deliver.

OpenAI is here for you at each stage of your startup’s journey. We're founders, investors, and operators, and have designed this program to be the one we wish we'd had.

Live virtual sessions covering the APIs and models founders use most.

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Cookbooks, demo apps and learning tracks built just for developers.

Check out Dev Resources

Expert content to spot AI opportunities and scale with confidence.

Explore Guides

A person with long dark hair and glasses speaks into a handheld microphone while gesturing with their other hand. They are wearing a light-colored collared shirt and a smartwatch. The background is blurred with bright colors, including green and blue tones.

Group photo of four people standing indoors beneath a high arched glass-and-metal ceiling. They are smiling and facing the camera. The person on the far left is wearing glasses, a white cap, and a dark shirt while flashing a peace sign. Next to them, a person in a dark hoodie stands with hands clasped. The third person is wearing a white sleeveless top and jeans, smiling brightly while also flashing a peace sign. The fourth person, on the far right, is wearing a dark jacket with a backpack, standing with hands in pockets.

A person is smiling while holding a microphone and speaking during an event. They are wearing a black jacket and a white lanyard with “OpenAI” text on it. In the foreground, another attendee in glasses and a striped sweater is listening attentively. Several more people are seated in the background, with large windows letting in natural light.

Two people smiling and posing together at an event. They both wear lanyards with name badges; the one on the left has a badge reading “Amin Hassan,” and the one on the right has a badge reading “Tai Tran.” Behind them is a large display screen showing the logos of “OpenAI” and “Slush,” with plants and event lighting in the background.

A person is smiling and looking to the side while seated at a table with laptops, a tumbler, and a small desk lamp in front of them. They are wearing a gray shirt and resting their chin on their hand. In the background, other people are also working on laptops in a bright room with a large arched window.

A presenter stands on stage giving a talk to a seated audience. They are gesturing with one hand while holding a clicker in the other, with a laptop on a podium nearby. A large screen next to them displays the word “GAMMA” with text beneath it reading “Use Case: AI presentation designer generating 5M images/day” and “Impact: Professional-quality text rendering.” The audience is visible in the foreground, facing the speaker. The setting has an industrial ceiling with exposed beams.

Bright, airy indoor space with high arched ceilings, hanging lights, and a large circular window letting in natural light. Several people are seated or standing at tall tables labeled “Build Bar,” working on laptops or writing. The atmosphere resembles a collaborative workspace or event setup, with modern furniture and an open, inviting design.

Build with OpenAI live

Join upcoming events for hands-on building, technical support, and connecting with other founders.

Codex Lab: Goal mode, worktrees, and 201-level tips (June 24, 10 am PT, Virtual)

Get more out of Codex with live demos, practical tips, and new capabilities that help you move faster and tackle bigger projects.

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You've got questions, we've got answers.

You're in the right place! We recommend checking out Build Hours⁠(opens in a new window) and code repos⁠(opens in a new window). These resources give you a head start building with OpenAI models with practical tips from founders. You can also sign up for the Startup Drop newsletter⁠ to get updates, events, and resources right to your inbox each month. Find more of our resources for startups here⁠.

Congrats on the funding. That’s a big milestone! Some VCs, like Thrive Capital, Sequoia, a16z, Kleiner Perkins, and Conviction Partners, are part of our partner network. The portfolio companies of these firms get access to additional resources.

If you’re not sure whether your VC (venture capital firm) is a partner, just ask them. They’ll know if they’re in our network and how to access OpenAI resources.

If they are, your startup may be eligible for benefits like free API credits, rate limit upgrades, and time with our solutions engineers or other technical team members. You’ll also be invited to exclusive events and get a direct line to the Startup team.

We ask for your org ID when applying for credits or at events where we give credits out, like hackathons. It’s a unique identifier tied to your OpenAI account.

To find it:

Log in to the OpenAI platform⁠(opens in a new window)
Click the cog icon (or your org name) in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings → Organization settings⁠(opens in a new window).
Under the General tab, you’ll see your unique Organization ID.

Running out of credits usually means you’re getting traction. Once your credits run out, you’ll automatically switch to standard billing. No downtime, no surprises. If you’re growing fast or hitting limits, our team may be able to help with upgraded rate limits or enterprise plans.

If you’ve hit a snag, check out our Help Center⁠(opens in a new window) to find the answers you’re looking for.

We’ve seen what matters most to leading enterprises - and when you build with OpenAI, you get the same security and privacy foundations they rely on. It signals credibility to your customers from day one. Security and privacy are core to our mission, trusted by companies like Morgan Stanley, Amgen, and BBVA, plus countless startups selling to large enterprises.

To dig into the details, you can read more about our business data policies⁠ and enterprise privacy commitments⁠, and head over to our Trust Portal⁠(opens in a new window) for detailed documentation.

OpenAI <3 startups. Come build with us.

Join the community Start building

AI for ambitious builders

You dream big. We’ll help you deliver.

Build with OpenAI live

Codex Lab: Goal mode, worktrees, and 201-level tips (June 24, 10 am PT, Virtual)

Build Hour: Image Gen 2 (July 23, 10 am PT, Virtual)

Build Hour: Building Agents (July 29, 10 am PT, Virtual)

Build Hours (On Demand)

Learn from founders bringing bold ideas to life

You've got questions, we've got answers.

I'm interested in building a startup—where should I start?

How do I create an OpenAI account for my startup?

My startup is backed by a VC. What does that unlock for my startup?

I’m ready to start building with the API. Do you offer API credits?

I’m ready to apply for credits. What should I have on hand?

How do I find my OpenAI org ID?

As a founder, what kind of events and resources can I tap into?

What happens when I use up my credits?

Does OpenAI offer Zero Data Retention (ZDR) for startups?

I'm building in a regulated domain. How can I navigate data privacy, security & compliance?