Cloud credits for people building something new.
Forward Lab is Data Moose's credits program for startups, students and open-source or nonprofit projects — free storage, bandwidth and CDN to help early work get off the ground.
Who qualifies
Forward Lab is aimed at people building something, not yet generating the revenue to pay for infrastructure at full price.
Startups
Early-stage companies, generally pre-seed to seed, with a working product or a clear plan to ship one.
Students
Currently enrolled students working on a personal project, class project, or thesis that needs real storage or delivery.
Open-source projects
Actively maintained open-source projects that need somewhere to host releases, assets, or documentation.
Nonprofits
Registered nonprofits running a program or service where infrastructure cost is a real barrier.
What you get
- Credit toward storage, bandwidth and CDN usage — applied automatically to your monthly bill
- Credits are typically issued for 6–12 months, renewable if your project is still active and still qualifies
- Same infrastructure and support as any paid account — nothing held back on a credits plan
- No equity, revenue share, or repayment — it's a credit, not a loan or investment
How it works
- Submit the application below
- We review it against current program capacity, usually within two weeks
- If approved, credits are applied to your account automatically
Apply for credits
Tell us a bit about what you're building.
Before you apply
Have a rough idea of expected monthly storage and bandwidth if you can — it's not required, but it helps us size the credit correctly the first time.
Already have an account?
Apply with the same email you used to sign up and, if approved, credits are added directly to that account.