LiveKit Startup Program

Up to $23K for voice and video AI startups under $5M raised: a free year of LiveKit Scale plus $17K in credits. YC: $100K.

Ways to get it

Apply directly
Up to $23K (Scale plan for a year + $17K in credits)
- Voice, video or physical AI is core to the product
- Fewer than 50 employees
- Under $5M raised and pre-Series A ($5M+ reviewed case by case)
- In production or launching within 6 months
- Card on file to enroll in the Scale plan
Open program page
Via Y Combinator
Via VC or accelerator partner
$100K in LiveKit Cloud credits for 1 year ($25K for YC alumni)
- Company backed by Y Combinator, verified with a ycombinator.com/verify link
- Raised less than $10M (more is reviewed manually)
Cannot be combined with the Startup Program offer. Companies over $10M can still redeem one free month of a paid plan.
Open program page

Eligibility

Requirements

Voice, video or physical AI is core to your product
Fewer than 50 employees
Under $5M raised and pre-Series A; above $5M reviewed case by case
Live website with a publicly identifiable founding team
Incorporated or actively incorporating
Building for real end users; in production or launching within 6 months

Not eligible

Projects that have run on LiveKit for a while, or already paying or contractually committed customers, may be declined
YC companies use the separate YC offer; the two cannot be combined

How to apply

1
YC company? Go to livekit.com/yc, generate a verification link at ycombinator.com/verify and claim the YC deal instead.
2
Otherwise complete the four-step application at livekit.com/startups (no pitch deck required).
3
If approved, LiveKit emails you a promo code.
4
Start the Scale plan with a card on file and enter the promo code at checkout; the credits land on your project.

Gotchas

Credits expire 12 months from issuance, not from first use, and unused credits do not roll over.
Inference credits only work on the partner models they were granted for; they can't pay for LiveKit Cloud usage, and Cloud credits can't pay for inference.
A card on file is required to enroll in Scale, whose normal fee is $500/month.
Teams that are already paying or contractually committed LiveKit customers may be declined.

About the LiveKit program

The LiveKit Startup Program is worth up to $23,000 for teams building voice, video or physical AI. It has three parts: one year of LiveKit Cloud's Scale plan with the $500/month fee waived ($6,000), $10,000 in additional LiveKit Cloud credits for usage beyond what Scale includes, and $7,000 in inference credits, $1,000 with each participating model partner (AssemblyAI, Deepgram, Fish Audio, Gradium, Inworld, Rime and LiveKit-hosted Gemma).

The two credit types are not interchangeable. Cloud credits cover anything LiveKit Cloud bills for: agent session minutes, media and data transfer, telephony and observability. Inference credits apply only to the partner models they were granted for, through LiveKit Inference. All credits expire 12 months from issuance, not first use, and do not roll over.

To qualify, voice, video or physical AI must be core to the product, with fewer than 50 employees, under $5M raised and pre-Series A ($5M+ reviewed case by case), a live website with an identifiable founding team, incorporated or incorporating, and in production or launching within six months. The program is for net-new projects; teams that are already paying or contractually committed may be declined.

YC companies have a separate offer at livekit.com/yc: $100,000 in LiveKit Cloud credits for one year for active YC founders whose company has raised under $10M, or $25,000 for YC alumni who no longer work at their YC company. The two offers cannot be combined.

Frequently asked questions

How much does the LiveKit Startup Program give?

Up to $23,000: the Scale plan's $500/month fee waived for a year ($6,000), $10,000 in LiveKit Cloud credits and $7,000 in inference credits ($1,000 per participating model partner).

Does LiveKit have a YC deal?

Yes. Active YC founders whose company has raised under $10M get $100,000 in LiveKit Cloud credits for one year; YC alumni who no longer work at their YC company get $25,000. It can't be combined with the Startup Program.

We've raised more than $5M. Can we apply to LiveKit's startup program?

Yes. The cutoff is pre-Series A with under $5M raised, but LiveKit reviews applications above it case by case.