> Markdown copy of https://perq.sh/blog/livekit-startup-program-credits (LiveKit for Startups: up to $23K for voice, video and physical AI teams | Perq), generated 2026-10-26. Index of every page for agents: https://perq.sh/llms.txt. Search API and MCP server: https://perq.sh/agents.
> LiveKit's startup program bundles a year of its Scale plan, extra Cloud credits and inference partner credits. Who qualifies, what each part is worth, and the other voice AI programs to apply to alongside it.

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# LiveKit for Startups: up to $23K for voice, video and physical AI teams

By Perq team ([Avatar 8](https://perq.sh/about)) · Oct 26, 2026 · LiveKit · vendor spotlight · voice/audio · startup programs

Offer details below are pulled from our dataset when the page is built, so they match the directory. Latest verification of offers in this post: Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET.

LiveKit for Startups went public in the directory today. LiveKit’s own page puts the program at up to $23K in infrastructure and inference credits for early-stage teams where voice, video or physical AI is the core of the product.

[LiveKit](https://perq.sh/offers/livekit-startups) Live startup program

[Up to $23K in infrastructure and inference credits: one year of the Scale plan ($6,000), $10,000 additional Cloud credits and $7,000 in inference partner credits](https://perq.sh/offers/livekit-startups)

**Eligibility:** Early-stage startups where 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); live website with a publicly identifiable founding team; in production or launching within 6 months

> “Get up to $23K in infrastructure and inference credits, plus LiveKit’s realtime platform to build, test, launch, and scale your product.”

Verified Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET · [Source: livekit.com ↗](https://livekit.com/startups) · [Claim ↗](https://livekit.com/startups)

## What the $23K is made of

Per LiveKit’s startups page, the total has three parts:

-   **$6,000: one year of the Scale plan.** Hosted agents, observability and telephony, with the $500/month fee waived.
-   **$10,000 in additional Cloud credits.**
-   **$7,000 in inference credits.** That is $1K with each participating inference partner: AssemblyAI, Deepgram, Fish Audio, Gemma, Gradium, Inworld and Rime.

The inference part only adds up to the full amount if you use all seven partners, so count the partners you would actually call when you estimate what the program is worth to you.

## Who qualifies

LiveKit lists these requirements: fewer than 50 employees, under $5M raised and pre-Series A ($5M+ is reviewed case by case), a live website with a publicly identifiable founding team, and a product that is in production or launching within 6 months. Voice, video or physical AI has to be core to what you build, not a side feature.

## How to claim

Apply with the “Apply now” button on [LiveKit’s startups page](https://livekit.com/startups).

## Other voice AI programs to apply to alongside it

LiveKit handles the realtime transport and agent hosting; most voice products also pay for speech-to-text and text-to-speech. These startup programs from the [Voice AI pack](https://perq.sh/packs/voice-ai-pack) are separate applications with their own rules. Values are each vendor’s own wording, pulled from our dataset when the page is built.

| Vendor | Offer (vendor wording) | Eligibility | Verified | Links |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Deepgram](https://perq.sh/offers/deepgram-startups) | [Up to $100,000 in credits over 12 months](https://perq.sh/offers/deepgram-startups) | AI builders / early-stage startups in or near production | Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET | [source ↗](https://deepgram.com/startup-program) · [claim ↗](https://deepgram.com/startup-program) |
| [AssemblyAI](https://perq.sh/offers/assemblyai-startups) | [12 months of recurring free credits + discounted startup pricing](https://perq.sh/offers/assemblyai-startups) | Startups building with voice/audio, launching within 6 months | Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET | [source ↗](https://www.assemblyai.com/contact/startup-program) · [claim ↗](https://www.assemblyai.com/contact/startup-program) |
| [Cartesia](https://perq.sh/offers/cartesia-startup-grant) | [12 months on Scale: 8M Sonic/Ink credits/month + $299/month Managed Agents credits](https://perq.sh/offers/cartesia-startup-grant) | Accepted startups | Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET | [source ↗](https://www.cartesia.ai/startups) · [claim ↗](https://www.cartesia.ai/startups) |
| [ElevenLabs](https://perq.sh/offers/elevenlabs-startup-grants) | [12 months free access: 33,000,000 characters (>$5,500 value)](https://perq.sh/offers/elevenlabs-startup-grants) | Startups building with ElevenLabs | Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET | [source ↗](https://elevenlabs.io/startup-grants) · [claim ↗](https://elevenlabs.io/startup-grants) |
| [Gladia](https://perq.sh/offers/gladia-startup-studio) | [$3,000 in credits for 12 months + a dedicated Field Developer Engineer ($3,500 if referred by a Gladia VC Partner)](https://perq.sh/offers/gladia-startup-studio) | Early-stage startups: fewer than 10 people, under 2 years since incorporation, voice AI at the core of the product, monetised or clear path to it; no minimum funding; agencies/consultancies not eligible | Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET | [source ↗](https://www.gladia.io/start-up-studio) · [claim ↗](https://www.gladia.io/start-up-studio) |

Not ready to apply anywhere? These need no application, so you can prototype before you have a website or a launch date:

| Vendor | Offer (vendor wording) | Eligibility | Verified | Links |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Deepgram](https://perq.sh/offers/deepgram-200-credit) | [$200 free credit, then pay-as-you-go](https://perq.sh/offers/deepgram-200-credit) | New Deepgram accounts | Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET | [source ↗](https://deepgram.com/pricing) · [claim ↗](https://deepgram.com/pricing) |
| [AssemblyAI](https://perq.sh/offers/assemblyai-free) | [Free tier: up to 185 hours pre-recorded + 333 hours streaming, no card](https://perq.sh/offers/assemblyai-free) | New accounts | Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET | [source ↗](https://www.assemblyai.com/pricing) · [claim ↗](https://www.assemblyai.com/pricing) |
| [Cartesia](https://perq.sh/offers/cartesia-free) | [Free plan: 20K credits/month](https://perq.sh/offers/cartesia-free) | Anyone | Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET | [source ↗](https://www.cartesia.ai/pricing) · [claim ↗](https://www.cartesia.ai/pricing) |

## Where to start

If you fit LiveKit’s criteria, apply there first: it covers the realtime layer and includes credits with several speech vendors. Then apply to the speech programs you plan to use beyond those partner credits, for example Gladia’s Startup Studio (fewer than 10 people, under 2 years since incorporation) or ElevenLabs’ startup grant. While you wait for decisions, build on the free tiers above.

Perq pack

[Voice AI pack](https://perq.sh/packs/voice-ai-pack)

Speech-to-text, text-to-speech and voice agent credits: free tiers, signup credits and startup programs.

14 offers · up to $126,315 in explicitly stated USD credits (7 of 14 offers; maximums, eligibility varies)

[See the pack →](https://perq.sh/packs/voice-ai-pack)

## All offers mentioned in this post

| Vendor | Offer | Category | Type | Eligibility | Source | Last verified |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [LiveKit](https://perq.sh/offers/livekit-startups) | [Up to $23K in infrastructure and inference credits: one year of the Scale plan ($6,000), $10,000 additional Cloud credits and $7,000 in inference partner credits](https://perq.sh/offers/livekit-startups) | [Voice & audio](https://perq.sh/category/voice-audio) | [startup program](https://perq.sh/type/startup-program) | Early-stage startups where 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); live website with a publicly identifiable founding team; in production or launching within 6 months | [livekit.com ↗](https://livekit.com/startups) | Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET |
| [Deepgram](https://perq.sh/offers/deepgram-startups) | [Up to $100,000 in credits over 12 months](https://perq.sh/offers/deepgram-startups) | [Voice & audio](https://perq.sh/category/voice-audio) | [startup program](https://perq.sh/type/startup-program) | AI builders / early-stage startups in or near production | [deepgram.com ↗](https://deepgram.com/startup-program) | Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET |
| [AssemblyAI](https://perq.sh/offers/assemblyai-startups) | [12 months of recurring free credits + discounted startup pricing](https://perq.sh/offers/assemblyai-startups) | [Voice & audio](https://perq.sh/category/voice-audio) | [startup program](https://perq.sh/type/startup-program) | Startups building with voice/audio, launching within 6 months | [assemblyai.com ↗](https://www.assemblyai.com/contact/startup-program) | Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET |
| [Cartesia](https://perq.sh/offers/cartesia-startup-grant) | [12 months on Scale: 8M Sonic/Ink credits/month + $299/month Managed Agents credits](https://perq.sh/offers/cartesia-startup-grant) | [Voice & audio](https://perq.sh/category/voice-audio) | [startup program](https://perq.sh/type/startup-program) | Accepted startups | [cartesia.ai ↗](https://www.cartesia.ai/startups) | Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET |
| [ElevenLabs](https://perq.sh/offers/elevenlabs-startup-grants) | [12 months free access: 33,000,000 characters (>$5,500 value)](https://perq.sh/offers/elevenlabs-startup-grants) | [Voice & audio](https://perq.sh/category/voice-audio) | [startup program](https://perq.sh/type/startup-program) | Startups building with ElevenLabs | [elevenlabs.io ↗](https://elevenlabs.io/startup-grants) | Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET |
| [Gladia](https://perq.sh/offers/gladia-startup-studio) | [$3,000 in credits for 12 months + a dedicated Field Developer Engineer ($3,500 if referred by a Gladia VC Partner)](https://perq.sh/offers/gladia-startup-studio) | [Voice & audio](https://perq.sh/category/voice-audio) | [startup program](https://perq.sh/type/startup-program) | Early-stage startups: fewer than 10 people, under 2 years since incorporation, voice AI at the core of the product, monetised or clear path to it; no minimum funding; agencies/consultancies not eligible | [gladia.io ↗](https://www.gladia.io/start-up-studio) | Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET |
| [Deepgram](https://perq.sh/offers/deepgram-200-credit) | [$200 free credit, then pay-as-you-go](https://perq.sh/offers/deepgram-200-credit) | [Voice & audio](https://perq.sh/category/voice-audio) | [signup credit](https://perq.sh/type/signup-credit) | New Deepgram accounts | [deepgram.com ↗](https://deepgram.com/pricing) | Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET |
| [AssemblyAI](https://perq.sh/offers/assemblyai-free) | [Free tier: up to 185 hours pre-recorded + 333 hours streaming, no card](https://perq.sh/offers/assemblyai-free) | [Voice & audio](https://perq.sh/category/voice-audio) | [free tier](https://perq.sh/type/free-tier) | New accounts | [assemblyai.com ↗](https://www.assemblyai.com/pricing) | Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET |
| [Cartesia](https://perq.sh/offers/cartesia-free) | [Free plan: 20K credits/month](https://perq.sh/offers/cartesia-free) | [Voice & audio](https://perq.sh/category/voice-audio) | [free tier](https://perq.sh/type/free-tier) | Anyone | [cartesia.ai ↗](https://www.cartesia.ai/pricing) | Oct 26, 2026, 6:12 AM ET |

No offers match these filters.

## More from the blog

-   [Free database and observability credits: trials, free tiers and startup programs](https://perq.sh/blog/free-database-observability-credits)
-   [This week in AI credits: 33 new offers, 2 closed, 4 changed (Oct 24, 2026)](https://perq.sh/blog/this-week-in-ai-credits-oct-24-2026)
-   [The compute crunch: what GPU price data shows, and the free credits that soften it](https://perq.sh/blog/compute-crunch-gpu-prices-free-credits)

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