Zoom has launched a new grant programme for artificial intelligence startups, offering eligible companies up to $150,000 in credits for its AI services, with no equity stake required. The programme, called AI Launchpad, was announced on Tuesday 10 November 2026, and applications opened the same day.

The programme is aimed at startups building AI-native applications, particularly software products with speech, language or conversational AI at their core. Zoom said the credits remove a costly barrier for founders who would otherwise have to stitch together several third-party providers to cover speech, language and decision-making capabilities.

Three tiers of support

AI Launchpad offers three tiers, based on a startup's stage, technical needs and eligibility. The Launch tier provides $5,000 in credits, along with community resources and technical office hours. The Scale tier provides $50,000 in credits, with engineering support and co-marketing opportunities. The top tier, Propel, provides $150,000 in credits, plus advanced technical guidance, early access to features and go-to-market collaboration.

Credits are available for up to 12 months. Participating startups may also receive engineering guidance, opportunities to showcase their products through Zoom's developer channels, and introductions to potential enterprise customers.

What startups can build

The programme builds on Zoom AI Services, which delivers Zoom's AI capabilities to developers through standalone application programming interfaces. The services cover speech recognition, summarisation, translation, voice AI and decision intelligence, allowing developers to build applications that understand conversations, generate responses and take action.

Zoom said startups could use the services to build voice AI and customer service agents, conversation intelligence tools that transcribe and summarise calls and meetings, multilingual experiences, and AI-powered workflows that analyse information and help determine the next action.

Zoom's announcement quoted its chief technology officer, X.D. Huang, saying: "AI startups should spend time solving real problems, not stitching together infrastructure." He said the programme gives founders the same AI technology that powers Zoom's own products, plus resources to help them move faster.

How to apply

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and Zoom said only a limited number of startups will be accepted. Applicants will be assessed on their product, team, technical approach, traction and plans to build with Zoom AI Services.

Startups can apply through the programme's page at zoom.ai/ai-launchpad. Zoom, founded in 2011 and headquartered in San Jose, California, said the programme extends its investment in AI infrastructure to emerging companies developing new products across industries.

The launch comes as technology companies compete to win over the next generation of AI startups, with cloud credits and developer programmes now a standard part of that contest. Zoom's pitch is that its speech and voice technology, refined through years of video meetings, gives it an edge for startups whose products depend on understanding spoken conversation.