AWS provides funding programs that offset the cost of proof-of-concept projects and cloud migrations. These programs are underused, primarily because most companies do not know they exist or find the application process opaque. If you are planning an AI project on AWS, funding should be one of the first things you explore.

PoC Funding - Up to 10,000 EUR

The AWS Proof of Concept funding program provides credits to offset the AWS compute, storage, and API costs of building and running a prototype. The ceiling is typically around 10,000 EUR in AWS credits, though exact amounts vary by project scope and AWS business development priorities.

What qualifies - A defined project with a clear technical scope, measurable success criteria, and a realistic path to production. AWS wants to fund PoCs that, if successful, lead to ongoing workloads in AWS. Generic exploration projects or PoCs that would clearly stay small do not get funded. AI projects with Bedrock, SageMaker, or Transcribe as the primary workload are actively prioritized.

What it covers - AWS service credits applied to your account. It does not cover consultant time, software licenses, or internal staff costs.

Application process - Funding applications go through your AWS account team or an AWS Partner. The application describes the project, the technical architecture, the expected AWS service consumption, and the business case. Turnaround is typically 2-4 weeks.

Migration Funding - Up to 400,000 EUR

Migration Acceleration Program (MAP) funding is significantly larger and covers migration of existing workloads to AWS - databases, applications, data warehouses. For AI projects that involve migrating data from on-premise to AWS before building AI capabilities, MAP funding can cover a substantial part of the migration cost.

MAP funding comes in two components: a migration planning engagement (usually delivered by an AWS Partner) funded entirely by AWS, and credit funding for the migration execution work. The planning engagement itself produces the business case, architecture, and migration plan that support the credit application.

Eligibility - Existing on-premise or competing cloud workloads. New-to-cloud customers qualify; migrations away from Azure or GCP also qualify. The workloads must be moving to AWS and staying there.

Size requirements - MAP is designed for workloads of meaningful scale. The minimum qualifying workload size is typically around 100,000 EUR in projected annual AWS spend post-migration.

How a Consultant Navigates This for You

AWS funding is not advertised with a simple application form. Access goes through the AWS Partner network - consultants and system integrators who have AWS Partner status can propose funding on your behalf.

A consultant who knows the programs can:

  • Identify which funding mechanism fits your situation
  • Structure the project scope and application to align with what AWS funds
  • Manage the application process and AWS account team communication
  • Ensure the project delivers the metrics (workload growth, technical adoption) that lead to ongoing AWS investment in your account

For most customers, the consultant’s effort to navigate funding is included in the engagement cost - the funding more than covers it. A 10,000 EUR PoC credit on a project that would cost 15,000-20,000 EUR in AWS services is material.

What AWS Looks For

AWS funds projects that demonstrate a clear path to production workloads. Success criteria in the PoC phase - measurable accuracy, latency, cost per transaction - that align with a production business case are more fundable than capability demonstrations without business context. Projects that are already in progress are harder to retroactively fund. Start the funding conversation before you start spending.