How to get approved for the Neon x Databricks Startup Program with no funding

I applied to the Neon x Databricks Startup Program for eksis, the social media scheduler I'm building, on 8 October 2026. eksis is bootstrapped with no outside funding. Five days later, on 13 October, it was approved: $1,000 in Neon credits, valid for up to 12 months.

I re-checked the requirements and every form field below at neon.com/startups and on the application form on 18 October 2026. The program can change at any time, so open the official page again before you apply.

Pick your track

Neon is now part of Databricks, so one program covers two products: Neon (serverless Postgres) and Databricks (the data and AI platform). It has two tracks.

Track	Who can apply	What you get
Self-funded	Early-stage, self-funded startups with less than $1M in funding, building an early product or MVP	Up to $1,000 in Neon credits, onboarding help from the Neon product team, early access to new Neon features
Venture-backed	At least $1M raised, or in a recognized accelerator (for example Y Combinator), building an early product or MVP	Up to $200,000 in Neon and Databricks credits, onboarding, early access to new features, speaking slots at Neon developer events, and co-marketing

The form shows $100,000 per product. That figure is for the venture-backed track. The self-funded track tops out at $1,000, as stated on neon.com/startups.

Have these ready before you apply

• A Neon account on a paid plan with a card on it. The form asks you to tick "I have created a Neon account, added a payment method, and am on a paid plan", because the credits go straight onto that account once you're approved. The Launch plan has no monthly minimum, so you only pay for usage. eksis is on Launch.
• Your Neon Org ID. It's in the organization settings in the Neon console, and it also shows in the URL when you open the organization (it starts with org-).
• A company email on your own domain, not a personal address. My Neon account signs in with Gmail, and that was fine: the Neon account email and the company email are separate fields on the form.
• A LinkedIn account. You have to sign in with LinkedIn as a real-person check before you can submit. The form says they only read your name and email and post nothing.
• A startup description of 250 characters or less that covers your mission, your technical challenges, and how you use data, analytics, or AI. That is very short, so draft it somewhere else first.
• Your country of incorporation. This field is required.

Fill in the form

On neon.com/startups, click Apply Now. It takes you to sites.google.com/databricks.com/startup-program-apply. That is a Google Sites address, but it sits under the databricks.com domain and the Neon site links to it directly. These are the form's fields as of 18 October 2026.

Step	What it asks	Notes
1. Credits	Both (Databricks + Neon), Databricks only, or Neon only	This decides which account you verify and which team reviews you. I picked Neon.
2. About you	Full name, company email	The email must be on your company domain.
3. Your company	Company name, website, year founded, public launch date, country of incorporation, office location	Name, website, and country of incorporation are required.
4. Funding	Funding status (We've raised venture capital, Bootstrapped / self-funded, or Prefer not to say), and any accelerator or cloud startup program you're in	With no funding yet, pick Bootstrapped / self-funded.
5. Building	Mission, technical challenges, and how you use data, analytics, or AI (250 characters max). Optional: the database you use today, and any Databricks or Neon employees you've talked to	I didn't keep a copy of my description, so I can't share it.
6. Account setup	Neon account email, Neon Org ID, and a tick confirming you're on a paid plan with a card	This step appears after you pick your credits in step 1.
7. Verify	LinkedIn sign-in, then a tick agreeing that Databricks and Neon may contact you and share your application with each other	The form says it takes about 3 minutes.

After you submit the form

The page after you submit says "Application received". The Neon site says they reply within a few business days. Questions about the program go to startup-program@databricks.com.

Mine went like this. I submitted the form, LinkedIn check included, on 8 October. At 16:35 Jakarta time (UTC+7) the same day, an email said the application was under review and nothing was needed from me. On 13 October at 12:14, the approval email arrived from that same program address, with the $1,000 in credits already active.

After approval

• The credits go live on your Neon organization. The approval email said the $1,000 credit was active on the eksis org, good for up to 12 months, would appear on the next invoice, and that nothing else was needed.
• Check the balance in the Neon console under Billing, in the "Credit balance" section.
• Set a spending notification on the same Billing page. Neon emails you when the organization's spend reaches the amount you set. Paid plans bill by usage, so once the credits run out or the 12 months pass, usage goes back to your card.
• AI Gateway has its own balance. Neon's AI Gateway draws from a separate prepaid balance, not from "Credit balance" (mine shows $0). I don't know yet whether program credits can be used for AI Gateway.

The short version

Create a Neon account, add a card, and move to the Launch plan, which has no monthly minimum. Have your Org ID, a company domain email, your LinkedIn account, and a 250-character description ready. Apply through neon.com/startups, pick Bootstrapped / self-funded if you have no funding yet, and check "Credit balance" under Billing once you're approved.

Sources: neon.com/startups, the Databricks Startup Program application form, and the Neon pricing page (all read 18 October 2026), plus the eksis Neon console and the program emails eksis received.