Founder finds Azure startup credits don't apply to Claude

"Startup credits (Azure Sponsorship) apply to these charges until the credit balance is exhausted. After that, standard pay‑as‑you‑go rates kick in. [Later amended to:] Startup credits don't apply. It is only available for enterprise and MCA-E subscriptions."

"Startup credits cannot be used for Microsoft Azure support plans, third-party branded products, products sold through Microsoft Azure Marketplace, or products otherwise sold separately from Microsoft Azure."

"The UI makes no distinction between credit-covered and Marketplace-billed models, meaning that the first time he was aware of the situation was when he saw an entry on his credit card statement totaling approximately $1,600."

Startups participating in Microsoft's Startup Credits program have encountered unexpected credit card charges when using Anthropic's Claude through Azure AI Foundry. Microsoft's documentation states that startup credits cannot be used for third-party branded products or marketplace items, yet the platform's user interface fails to distinguish between credit-covered and marketplace-billed models. A Tokyo-based startup founder discovered approximately $1,600 in charges despite having unused startup credits. Microsoft's forum moderator initially provided conflicting information before correcting it to align with official documentation. Multiple startups have reported similar billing issues, with charges ranging from $1,600 to $3,000, while their allocated startup credits remained untouched.

Read at Theregister