Snowflake, the AI Data Cloud company, has introduced Snowflake for Startups at the grand opening of its Silicon Valley AI (SVAI) Hub. Built as the next evolution of the Powered by Snowflake program, this new initiative acts as a launchpad for founders to build and scale enterprise-grade AI applications on Snowflake’s AI Data Cloud. The program combines advanced product capabilities, strategic venture capital partnerships, and coworking opportunities to empower emerging AI innovators.
“Snowflake for Startups represents our unified commitment to empowering the next generation of builders,” said Stefan Williams, VP, Corporate Development at Snowflake. “This initiative brings together Snowflake’s most impactful programs and resources from technology and capital to community into one cohesive experience, providing the launchpad for innovators to build, scale and get to market faster.”
Removing Infrastructure Barriers for Startups
Startups often face the challenge of building secure AI infrastructure while conserving limited resources. Snowflake is addressing this by offering managed, self-service access to the same enterprise-grade AI infrastructure powered by Cortex AI that supports Snowflake Intelligence. This provides startups with dedicated inference capacity, enterprise-level security, and access to a wide range of frontier models. With this foundation, startups can create and deploy AI-driven applications and agents seamlessly across the Snowflake ecosystem, reaching thousands of customers faster and more securely.
“The magic of building on Snowflake is everything we didn’t have to do. We didn’t have to build a separate AI platform or worry about core security and governance from scratch,” said Assaf Henkin, Co-Founder and CEO at Jedify. “Snowflake handles all the complex infrastructure, so we can focus entirely on delivering the contextual data layers, powered by our Semantic Fusion™ technology, enabling powerful, enterprise-grade AI applications. It’s the fastest path from an idea to a trusted product.”
Strengthening Startup–VC Collaboration
As part of its efforts to fuel venture-backed growth, Snowflake is expanding its collaboration with leading investment firms, including Altimeter, Amplify, Blackstone, Capital One Ventures, Coatue, Greylock Partners, ICONIQ, IVP, Madrona Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, and more. In addition, Snowflake has formed its first strategic VC partnership in the Asia Pacific-Japan region with the Asan Nanum Foundation. These partnerships give investors early visibility into cutting-edge AI startups building on Snowflake, while portfolio companies benefit from free Snowflake usage and direct access to Snowflake’s technical expertise.
“Snowflake sits at the epicenter of the AI and data revolution, giving them an unparalleled vantage point to spot emerging trends,” said Pauline Yang, Partner at Altimeter. “By working with Snowflake, we’re equipping our founders with the knowledge and tools to build secure, AI-native applications that solve customer problems from day one.”
A Full Growth Ecosystem for Startups
Snowflake for Startups delivers an integrated support system to help founders innovate and grow:
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Go-To-Market Engine: Startups gain visibility with over 12,000 potential customers through the Snowflake Marketplace, opening new revenue and scaling opportunities.
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Snowflake Startup Accelerator: Offering credits, engineering support, and GTM guidance, the accelerator has already launched 28 live products and has seen a 304% increase in applications this year.
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Snowflake Ventures: With investment activity set to grow by more than 30% this year, Snowflake Ventures will expand its portfolio to over 65 companies, supporting more than 15 early-stage startups from within Snowflake’s ecosystem.
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Innovation and Event Spaces at SVAI Hub: Located in Menlo Park, the SVAI Hub provides coworking and event spaces designed to foster collaboration between startups, VCs, and AI leaders. Its first cohort of startups is expected to begin using the space next month.
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“Snowflake for Startups has supported us at every stage, including through investment from Snowflake Ventures,” said Alexis Steinman, Co-CEO at Maxa, winner of a Snowflake Startup Challenge and more recently a Data Drivers Award. “Snowflake was the best platform to build our patent-pending reasoning and verification technology that extends the reach of generative AI to mainstream finance and business teams that struggle with complex systems of record. Snowflake’s partnership lets us focus on our ‘secret sauce’ while delivering immediate enterprise-grade trust, scalability and frontier capabilities.”
With Snowflake for Startups, the company is positioning itself as a catalyst for AI innovation removing infrastructure hurdles, connecting startups with investors, and providing the resources needed to transform early-stage ideas into trusted, enterprise-ready AI solutions.