Workers Launchpad: From $250K in Credits to a Global Founder Community
For many startups, the first real hurdle isn't the idea — it’s the cost of the compute and the complexity of the infrastructure required to bring that idea to life. Cloudflare’s startup programs were designed specifically to remove that barrier. The flagship offering, Cloudflare for Startups, launched in 2018 to deliver enterprise-level security and performance tools. Last year, the focus shifted: founders building on the Developer Platform now qualify for up to $250,000 in cloud credits for a full year.
The dedicated Workers Launchpad Program arrived during Birthday Week 2022, backed by an initial $1.25 billion in potential VC funding across 26 partner firms. That pool quickly grew to $2 billion. Since then, 145 startups from 23 countries have gone through the program, spanning AI/ML, developer tools, 3D design, cloud infrastructure, data, ad tech, media, logistics, and finance. Notably, nearly a third of the companies in Cohort #5 are led by female founders.
The program is structured around more than just credits. Participants get bootcamp sessions with Cloudflare leadership and product teams on pricing and scaling sales, plus hands-on design help from the Solutions Architecture team. The VC network is heavily leveraged for introductions, and the program has already produced concrete outcomes: Cloudflare acquired Nefeli Networks (Cohort #2) and Outerbase (Cohort #4) directly from the pipeline.
Alumni on the Ground
Current participants consistently point to the access to Cloudflare’s internal teams as the differentiator. It’s not just about infrastructure; it’s about the partnership.
"For Langbase, the best part about Workers Launchpad was the incredible support from Cloudflare’s internal teams. It wasn’t just about access to infrastructure; it was the hands-on migration help, rapid feedback loops, and genuine partnership from engineers, product folks, and the broader Cloudflare community. That human support empowered us to iterate faster, solve hard problems, and truly feel like we were building something impactful together." — Ahmad Awais, Founder & CEO, Langbase
"Since joining Cohort #4, we’ve exited closed beta and expanded our product suite for content creators. We learned as much from fellow startups as from Cloudflare during office hours and sessions... Building on Workers has given us a real advantage, and the team’s pace of innovation only compounds it." — Giacomo Di Pinto, Co-Founder & CEO, Sherpo.io
"Beyond the cloud credits, the most important aspect was our ability to access (and even contribute to) the product roadmap... We've recently passed half a million users on the platform and 100% of application logic is still powered by Cloudflare." — Zach Hawtof, Co-Founder & CEO, Tightknit.ai
"My favorite part of the Launchpad was the community and the leaders who brought us together... Render Better now processes 5 billion requests each month, made possible by Cloudflare's global edge network and Workers platform." — James Koshigoe, Founder & CEO, Render Better
Meet Cohort #6
With Cohort #5 officially graduating, the program welcomes its next wave of founders. The cohort is listed below.
Applications for Cohort #7 are now open. Updates on the current cohort are shared via @CloudflareDev on X and the developer Discord.
