NVIDIA Inception Program — Entrepreneurship

NVIDIA Inception is a free membership program run by NVIDIA for startups building with AI, machine learning, data science, and accelerated computing. It is not a cohort accelerator: a company can join at any point between prototype and production, keeps full ownership, and draws on the benefits it needs. Membership opens up NVIDIA technical training, preferred pricing on selected hardware and software, free cloud credits from NVIDIA and partner platforms, the NVIDIA Developer Forums, and go-to-market support.

Startups that qualify can also be put in front of investors through Inception Capital Connect, which draws on the NVIDIA VC Alliance — a separate network of venture firms, corporate venture arms, accelerators, and family offices. NVIDIA charges nothing and takes no equity. A Chinese-language program page and a China contact address serve teams based in China.

Benefits & funding

Free membership: no application fee, no membership fee, no equity taken.
Deep Learning Institute access: codes for free self-paced technical courses, plus discounted instructor-led workshops in AI, data science, and accelerated computing.
Preferred pricing on a subset of enterprise-grade NVIDIA GPUs and on selected software; NVIDIA chooses the covered products and can change them.
Free cloud credits from NVIDIA and partner providers. NVIDIA does not publish the credit amounts on its program pages.
The latest SDKs, model libraries, and developer platforms, plus full access to the NVIDIA Developer Forums.
Investor exposure through Inception Capital Connect for startups that meet its criteria, plus curated networking events with venture firms and NVIDIA staff.
Co-branded content, member badges, event and showcase visibility, customer referrals, and a members-only monthly newsletter.
Portfolio companies referred by an NVIDIA VC Alliance member receive a fast-tracked application review.

Eligibility

The applicant is a company, not an individual. It must be officially incorporated, and the incorporation date is asked for in the application.
The company must be less than 10 years old.
The company must employ at least one developer.
The company must maintain a working website; the Chinese-language page accepts proof of incorporation in its place.
Open to startups worldwide and at any stage. Revenue is not required, and a startup does not need to be using NVIDIA GPUs or SDKs yet.
Not eligible: consulting and outsourced development firms, companies associated with cryptocurrency, cloud service providers, resellers and distributors, and public companies.
No requirement is published on the founders’ nationality, age, or level of education.

Can you apply?

Open to all applicants

No nationality, residency, education, or experience limits are listed.

Circlebreaker is a free database of global fellowships, scholarships and programs — every one decoded like this.

We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.

Application process

1
Open the Inception application from the program page and sign in with or create an NVIDIA account.
2
Enter company details — incorporation date, product and technical direction, funding status — and attach a company pitch deck.
3
Submit the application. NVIDIA reviews it and the program team contacts the company.
4
After acceptance, complete the company profile in the Inception portal to unlock personalised recommendations and benefit offers.
5
Add teammates to the portal and keep the company profile current so offers, recommendations, and event invitations stay relevant.

Program timeline

Year-round
applications are accepted at any time. There are no deadlines, no cohorts, and no intake rounds.
After submission
NVIDIA reviews the application and contacts the company; the review time is not published.
After acceptance
portal access, benefit offers, and Deep Learning Institute course codes become available.
During membership
members keep the company profile up to date; the Chinese-language page asks for a refresh roughly every six months.
The company’s 10th year
the age criterion marks the outer edge of eligibility.