The Startup Guide to Affordable Global Infrastructure

You’ve raised a seed round. Your product has traction. Users are signing up from multiple countries. Now you need infrastructure that can serve customers globally without burning through your runway in six months on AWS bills.

This is the infrastructure dilemma every scaling startup faces. You need multi-region deployment for performance and reliability, but hyperscaler pricing makes global infrastructure feel like a luxury only late-stage companies can afford. A typical three-region AWS deployment runs $150,000+ annually, and that’s before your traffic really picks up.

There’s a better path. This guide shows you how to build truly global infrastructure for under $15,000 monthly – less than most startups spend on a single AWS region. We’ll cover the trade-offs between hyperscaler startup credits and long-term infrastructure, real configurations that work for growing companies, and how to scale from seed stage through Series A without rearchitecting everything.

Why Startups Need Multi-Region Infrastructure

Most founders assume multi-region deployment is something you tackle after Series B. That thinking costs you customers and creates technical debt that becomes expensive to fix later.

Performance Matters From Day One

Users in Tokyo won’t wait for your Virginia servers to respond. A 200ms page load feels slow. A 20ms page load feels instant. Every 100ms of latency costs you conversions. Studies show page load time directly impacts signup rates and revenue.

If you’re serving customers in Europe, Asia, or Latin America from a single US region, you’re losing deals to competitors with better performance. Global users expect local performance, and they have local alternatives if your product feels sluggish.

Reliability Isn’t Optional

Single-region deployments create a single point of failure. AWS us-east-1 goes down several times per year. When your entire product runs in one region and that region has issues, your business stops.

Early-stage companies can’t afford multi-hour outages. You’re building trust with early adopters who will churn if your product is unreliable. Multi-region deployment means regional failures don’t take your entire product offline.

Compliance Comes Sooner Than Expected

Landing your first European customer often means they ask about GDPR compliance and data residency. Healthcare customers need HIPAA-compliant infrastructure. Financial services companies require specific data handling.

Building multi-region from the start makes compliance straightforward. Retrofitting compliance into single-region architecture later is expensive and time-consuming. Many startups lose enterprise deals because their infrastructure can’t meet compliance requirements.

Geographic Expansion Requires Infrastructure

Expanding to new markets requires infrastructure in those markets. Launching in Southeast Asia from US servers creates a terrible user experience. By the time you have budget for international expansion, you need the infrastructure ready to support it.

Starting with multi-region architecture means geographic expansion becomes a go-to-market decision rather than a months-long infrastructure project.

The Hyperscaler Startup Credits Strategy

AWS, GCP, and Azure all offer startup credits programs. These can be valuable, but you need to understand the trade-offs before committing your architecture to a platform you might not be able to afford long-term.

The Upside of Hyperscaler Credits

Hyperscaler startup programs offer real benefits for early-stage companies:

Free or cheap to start: AWS Activate provides $5,000-$100,000 in credits. GCP offers similar amounts. Azure has comparable programs. For a pre-revenue startup, this removes infrastructure as an immediate cost concern.

Managed services: Hyperscalers offer databases, caching, queuing, and other managed services that reduce operational burden. Small teams benefit from not running their own database clusters or Redis instances.

Easy onboarding: Documentation is extensive. Tutorials cover common use cases. Most developers have hyperscaler experience. You can hire engineers who already know AWS or GCP.

Proven for MVP stage: Millions of startups have launched on hyperscaler platforms. The pattern works for getting to market quickly and iterating on product-market fit.

The Downsides You Need to Consider

The problems emerge as you scale and credits expire:

Credits expire quickly: Most programs give you 12 months. After that, you’re paying full price. Many founders don’t realize how fast credits burn through with meaningful traffic.

Vendor lock-in risk: Once you build on AWS-specific services (RDS, Lambda, API Gateway, etc.), migrating becomes complex and expensive. Each managed service you adopt makes switching harder.

Costs spike post-credits: What ran on $3,000/month in credits suddenly costs $15,000/month in real money. Then $30,000 as traffic grows. Egress fees, managed service pricing, and per-resource charges add up fast.

Egress fees kill you: Hyperscalers charge $0.08-$0.12/GB for bandwidth. A startup serving 100TB monthly pays $8,000-$12,000 just for egress. This cost grows linearly with success, making unit economics worse as you scale.

Migration becomes harder over time: The longer you run on hyperscaler infrastructure, the more dependencies you accumulate. Migrating after two years of building on AWS-specific services can take six months and significant engineering resources.

Unpredictable costs: Hyperscaler billing is complex. Costs vary based on usage patterns, regions, services used, and data transfer. This makes financial planning difficult when you’re trying to manage runway.

When Hyperscaler Credits Make Sense

Despite the downsides, hyperscaler credits can be the right choice in specific situations:

Pre-product-market-fit: If you’re still figuring out what to build and customer needs change weekly, managed services and rapid iteration matter more than long-term costs. Get to PMF first, optimize infrastructure later.

Heavy managed service needs: If your product requires specific managed services (like AWS SageMaker for ML workloads or GCP BigQuery for analytics), the specialized tools might justify the platform.

Team expertise: If your technical team has deep AWS or GCP knowledge and limited DevOps capacity, staying on familiar platforms reduces operational risk during critical growth phases.

Short runway to profitability: If you’re confident you’ll reach profitability within 12-18 months, burning through credits and then paying hyperscaler rates for a short period might work better than infrastructure migration mid-growth.

When to Reconsider the Credits Strategy

When hyperscaler credits become problematic:

Post-product-market-fit with growing traffic: Once you have consistent growth and predictable workloads, infrastructure costs become a major line item. This is when OpenMetal’s cost advantage compounds significantly.

Credits expiring soon: If you’re 6-9 months into your credit period, start planning your infrastructure strategy now. Don’t wait until credits expire and costs jump 5x overnight.

Egress costs growing fast: If bandwidth charges exceed $2,000-$3,000 monthly, you’re at the point where OpenMetal’s included bandwidth creates massive savings.

Predictable workloads: Once your infrastructure needs are stable (specific compute requirements, storage patterns, bandwidth usage), dedicated infrastructure makes more financial sense than variable pricing.

Raising Series A: Growth stage investors care about unit economics. High infrastructure costs as a percentage of revenue become a fundraising concern. Clean unit economics require infrastructure efficiency.

The OpenMetal Startup eXcelerator Program

OpenMetal created the Startup eXcelerator Program specifically for companies facing the post-credits infrastructure challenge. The program provides up to $100,000 in cloud credits plus dedicated support to help startups build scalable, cost-effective infrastructure.

Program Benefits

Up to $100,000 in cloud credits: Based on your total cloud spend commitment, OpenMetal provides substantial credits to get started. This gives you the same benefit as hyperscaler programs but on infrastructure you can actually afford long-term.

60% long-term savings: After credits, customers pay 30-60% less than AWS or GCP for equivalent infrastructure. This isn’t a promotional rate that expires – it’s sustainable pricing that improves your unit economics permanently.

Technical architecture consultation: Unlike hyperscalers where you’re one of millions, you get direct access to OpenMetal’s architecture team. They help design your infrastructure for your specific needs, avoiding over-provisioning and unnecessary complexity.

Executive sponsorship: Every startup in the program gets an executive sponsor at OpenMetal who cares about your success. When you have issues or need to scale quickly, you’re talking to decision-makers, not support tickets.

Dedicated account management: You’re assigned an account manager and account engineer who learn your business and proactively help with capacity planning, optimization, and scaling.

Prioritized support: Startup program members get priority in the support queue. When you’re dealing with a production issue at 2 AM, response time matters.

Joint marketing opportunities: OpenMetal works with successful startups on case studies, co-marketing, and visibility opportunities that help you grow your business.

Customized hardware options: Need GPU servers for AI/ML? High-memory configurations for analytics? Custom storage for big data? The program accommodates specialized requirements that don’t fit standard configurations.

Eligibility and Requirements

The program targets startups that have reached meaningful scale:

Minimum spend threshold: Your cloud infrastructure spend should meet or exceed $4,000 monthly. This ensures OpenMetal’s platform (optimized for 100+ VM environments) matches your actual needs.

Startup status: You’re an early to growth-stage company, typically seed through Series B. The program works with companies backed by VCs, accelerators, or successfully bootstrapped.

Technical fit: Your workloads align with what private cloud infrastructure handles well – compute, storage, networking, databases, application hosting. Highly specialized managed services might require hybrid approaches.

How to Apply

Application is straightforward through the program page. OpenMetal reviews your infrastructure needs, discusses how the program can help, and works with you to design an appropriate configuration and credit package.

The review process typically takes days, not weeks. OpenMetal wants to help startups succeed and moves quickly to get you set up.

What $15K Monthly Gets You

Let’s look at configurations that support substantial startups for under $15,000 monthly.

Configuration 1: Three-Region Global Deployment

Use case: SaaS platform serving customers in North America, Europe, and Asia

Infrastructure:

• Americas: Medium V4 Cloud Core in Ashburn ($2,376/month)
• Europe: Medium V4 Cloud Core in Amsterdam ($2,376/month)
• Asia: Medium V4 Cloud Core in Singapore ($2,376/month)
• Total: $7,128/month

Capacity:

• Combined: 3,024 vCPUs across three continents
• ~198 VMs total (66 per region at 80% utilization)
• 5,694TB monthly bandwidth included (1,898TB per region)
• NVMe-based distributed storage across all regions

What this supports:

• 500,000+ monthly active users distributed globally
• Real-time application performance in all major markets
• Geographic redundancy and disaster recovery
• Data residency compliance for EU, US, and APAC
• Room to scale to 1M+ users before needing upgrades

AWS equivalent cost:

• Compute across three regions: ~$7,200/month
• Storage: ~$3,000/month
• Egress (400TB @ $0.09/GB): ~$36,000/month
• Total: ~$46,200/month

Savings: $39,072 monthly ($469,000 annually)

Configuration 2: Two-Region with Development Environment

Use case: Product company with production in two regions plus dev/staging

Infrastructure:

• Production US: Large V4 Cloud Core in Ashburn ($4,298.40/month)
• Production EU: Large V4 Cloud Core in Amsterdam ($4,298.40/month)
• Dev/Staging: Medium V4 Cloud Core in Los Angeles ($2,376/month)
• Total: $10,972.80/month

Capacity:

• Production: 2,592 vCPUs, ~284 VMs across two regions
• Dev/Staging: 1,008 vCPUs, ~66 VMs for testing
• Combined bandwidth: 9,492TB monthly (7,594TB production, 1,898TB dev)
• Full production redundancy plus complete dev/test environment

What this supports:

• Production application serving US and European customers
• Full-scale staging environment for testing
• Development environment for multiple engineering teams
• CI/CD pipelines with production-equivalent infrastructure
• Disaster recovery and business continuity

AWS equivalent cost:

• Production compute: ~$4,800/month
• Dev/staging compute: ~$2,400/month
• Storage across all environments: ~$2,500/month
• Egress (600TB @ $0.09/GB): ~$54,000/month
• Total: ~$63,700/month

Savings: $52,727 monthly ($632,724 annually)

Configuration 3: Single Region High-Capacity

Use case: Startup with concentrated user base, high compute needs

Infrastructure:

• Primary: XL V4 Cloud Core in Ashburn ($7,149.60/month)
• DR/Backup: Medium V4 Cloud Core in Los Angeles ($2,376/month)
• Total: $9,525.60/month

Capacity:

• Primary: 2,736 vCPUs, ~293 VMs
• Backup: 1,008 vCPUs, ~66 VMs
• Combined bandwidth: 7,593TB monthly
• High-density consolidation with geographic redundancy

What this supports:

• Compute-intensive workloads (data processing, analytics, ML training)
• Large database clusters
• High-traffic applications with US-focused user base
• Geographic DR without paying for full duplicate capacity
• Easy scaling path to multi-region when needed

AWS equivalent cost:

• Primary compute: ~$6,000/month
• Backup compute: ~$2,400/month
• Storage: ~$2,000/month
• Egress (500TB @ $0.09/GB): ~$45,000/month
• Total: ~$55,400/month

Savings: $45,874 monthly ($550,488 annually)

Configuration 4: Maximum Global Coverage

Use case: Company with true worldwide user base across all continents

Infrastructure:

• Los Angeles: Medium V4 Cloud Core ($2,376/month)
• Ashburn: Medium V4 Cloud Core ($2,376/month)
• Amsterdam: Medium V4 Cloud Core ($2,376/month)
• Singapore: Medium V4 Cloud Core ($2,376/month)
• Total: $9,504/month

Capacity:

• Four regions spanning three continents
• 4,032 vCPUs total, ~264 VMs
• 7,592TB combined monthly bandwidth
• Complete global coverage with regional redundancy

What this supports:

• Users in Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific
• Multiple redundancy zones within regions
• Compliance with data residency in all major markets
• <50ms latency to 90% of global internet users
• Geographic load balancing and failover

AWS equivalent cost:

• Compute across four regions: ~$9,600/month
• Storage: ~$4,000/month
• Egress (500TB @ $0.09/GB): ~$45,000/month
• Inter-region data transfer: ~$8,000/month
• Total: ~$66,600/month

Savings: $57,096 monthly ($685,152 annually)

All configurations use OpenStack for unified cloud management across regions and deploy in 45 seconds to production-ready infrastructure with full root access.

Pricing current as of February 2026 and subject to change. View current pricing.

Cost Comparisons for Common Startup Scenarios

Let’s examine typical startup growth stages and infrastructure costs at each phase.

Scenario 1: Post-Seed SaaS Company

Company profile:

• Raised $2M seed round
• 50,000 monthly active users
• Growing 15% month-over-month
• Team of 12 people
• $30K monthly burn rate target

Infrastructure needs:

• Primary production environment
• Staging for testing
• Development environment
• 150TB monthly bandwidth
• Geographic redundancy for reliability

OpenMetal (Two Medium Cloud Cores):

• Production: Medium V4 Cloud Core ($2,376/month)
• Staging/Dev: Medium V4 Cloud Core ($2,376/month)
• Total: $4,752/month (15.8% of burn rate)

AWS (Equivalent):

• Compute: ~$3,600/month
• Storage: ~$1,500/month
• Egress (150TB): ~$13,500/month
• Total: ~$18,600/month (62% of burn rate)

Impact: OpenMetal infrastructure represents reasonable overhead while AWS would consume majority of burn. The difference ($13,848/month) funds nearly a full engineering hire.

Scenario 2: Series A Growth Company

Company profile:

• Raised $8M Series A
• 500,000 monthly active users
• Expanding to Europe and Asia
• Team of 35 people
• $200K monthly burn rate

Infrastructure needs:

• Multi-region production (US, EU, Asia)
• Development and staging environments
• 800TB monthly bandwidth
• Compliance with GDPR and data residency
• High availability and disaster recovery

OpenMetal (Three-Region Plus Dev):

• US Production: Large V4 Cloud Core ($4,298.40/month)
• EU Production: Large V4 Cloud Core ($4,298.40/month)
• Asia Production: Large V4 Cloud Core ($4,298.40/month)
• Dev/Staging: Medium V4 Cloud Core ($2,376/month)
• Total: $15,271.20/month (7.6% of burn rate)

AWS (Equivalent):

• Compute across regions: ~$7,200/month
• Storage: ~$3,500/month
• Egress (800TB): ~$72,000/month
• Inter-region transfer: ~$12,000/month
• Total: ~$94,700/month (47% of burn rate)

Impact: OpenMetal saves $79,428 monthly. Over a year, that’s $953,136 – enough to extend runway by 5+ months or fund significant product development.

Scenario 3: Bootstrapped Profitable Startup

Company profile:

• Bootstrapped to profitability
• 200,000 monthly active users
• $80K monthly revenue
• $60K monthly expenses
• Infrastructure is largest expense after payroll

Infrastructure needs:

• Production environment with redundancy
• Minimal dev/staging (small team)
• 300TB monthly bandwidth
• Focus on cost efficiency
• Reliable uptime for customer retention

OpenMetal (Efficient Two-Region):

• Production: Large V4 Cloud Core ($4,298.40/month)
• DR: Medium V4 Cloud Core ($2,376/month)
• Total: $6,674.40/month (11% of expenses)

AWS (Equivalent):

• Compute: ~$4,000/month
• Storage: ~$2,000/month
• Egress (300TB): ~$27,000/month
• Total: ~$33,000/month (55% of expenses)

Impact: OpenMetal saves $26,325 monthly, directly improving profitability by 44%. The difference between 25% profit margin and 69% profit margin is literally the infrastructure cost.

The Bandwidth Factor

Notice a pattern in these comparisons? Egress fees dominate AWS costs. Hyperscalers charge $0.08-$0.12 per GB for bandwidth. OpenMetal includes generous bandwidth allocations (1,898TB to 9,491TB depending on configuration) at no additional charge.

For startups, this matters enormously. As your product succeeds and traffic grows, AWS costs grow linearly with usage. OpenMetal costs stay fixed until you need additional capacity. This changes your unit economics fundamentally.

Hybrid Strategy: Using Both Platforms Strategically

You don’t have to choose between hyperscaler credits and OpenMetal. Smart startups use both strategically during different phases.

Phase 1: Launch on Hyperscaler Credits (Months 1-6)

What to do:

• Use AWS Activate or GCP credits for initial MVP
• Focus on product-market fit, not infrastructure optimization
• Build on managed services for rapid iteration
• Keep architecture portable where possible (avoid deep platform lock-in)

What to avoid:

• Don’t build dependencies on services that don’t have open source equivalents
• Avoid proprietary APIs when standard alternatives exist
• Don’t optimize for hyperscaler-specific features

Phase 2: Plan Migration (Months 6-9)

What to do:

• Apply for OpenMetal Startup eXcelerator Program
• Audit current infrastructure and identify migration complexity
• Start building on OpenMetal in parallel with hyperscaler
• Use OpenMetal for new services and features
• Test migration path with non-critical workloads

What to avoid:

• Don’t wait until credits expire to start planning
• Avoid adding new hyperscaler dependencies
• Don’t underestimate migration timeline

Phase 3: Execute Migration (Months 9-12)

What to do:

• Migrate services incrementally to OpenMetal
• Run hybrid during transition period
• Complete migration before credits expire
• Validate performance and costs on OpenMetal
• Maintain hyperscaler for specific managed services if needed

What to avoid:

• Don’t do big-bang migrations
• Avoid migrating everything just because credits expired
• Don’t skip performance validation

Phase 4: Long-Term Operations (Month 12+)

What to do:

• Run primary infrastructure on OpenMetal
• Use hyperscalers selectively for specific services
• Optimize costs continuously
• Scale on platform with sustainable economics
• Invest savings in growth

This hybrid approach gives you hyperscaler managed services during PMF discovery while building long-term infrastructure that supports sustainable unit economics.

Growing From Seed to Series A on OpenMetal

Infrastructure needs change as startups grow. OpenMetal’s architecture supports scaling without painful migrations or rearchitecting.

Seed Stage (0-50K Users)

Typical needs:

• Single-region deployment
• Basic redundancy
• Development environment
• 50-100TB monthly bandwidth

OpenMetal configuration:

• Production: Medium V4 Cloud Core ($2,376/month)
• Affordable baseline with room to grow
• Includes 1,898TB bandwidth (plenty of headroom)
• Supports ~66 VMs for application, database, caching

Growth path:

• Start with one Medium Cloud Core
• Add second region when launching internationally
• Upgrade to Large Cloud Core as user base grows
• No architecture changes needed

Series A Stage (50K-500K Users)

Typical needs:

• Multi-region deployment
• Geographic redundancy
• Separate dev/staging/production
• 300-800TB monthly bandwidth

OpenMetal configuration:

• Production: Two Large V4 Cloud Cores ($8,596.80/month)
• Dev/Staging: One Medium V4 Cloud Core ($2,376/month)
• Total: $10,972.80/month
• Supports ~350 VMs across all environments
• Complete infrastructure for this stage

Growth path:

• Add third region for Asia-Pacific expansion
• Scale existing Cloud Cores to XL for more capacity
• Add specialized hardware (GPUs, high-memory) as needed
• Infrastructure grows with revenue, not ahead of it

Series B Stage (500K+ Users)

Typical needs:

• Global multi-region
• Advanced redundancy and DR
• Multiple environments per region
• 1,000+ TB monthly bandwidth
• Specialized workloads (ML, analytics, etc.)

OpenMetal configuration:

• Multiple Large or XL Cloud Cores per region
• Specialized bare metal for specific workloads
• Advanced networking and disaster recovery
• Custom configurations matching exact needs

Growth path:

• Work with OpenMetal team on large deployments
• Design custom architecture for scale
• Maintain cost efficiency while growing capacity
• Infrastructure supports hundreds of millions of users

The key advantage: You’re using the same platform and architecture at every stage. Scaling means adding capacity, not migrating to new platforms or rewriting applications.

Success Stories: Startups Building on OpenMetal

MyMiniFactory: Predictable Costs Enable Growth

MyMiniFactory operates a marketplace for 3D printable designs with users worldwide. They needed infrastructure that could handle substantial traffic and bandwidth while maintaining predictable costs.

According to Matt Weston, CFO at MyMiniFactory: “Having a planned monthly cost has been liberating and has allowed us to allocate resources elsewhere with the knowledge our infrastructure costs are not going to spiral out of control. It has allowed the technology budget to be used on hiring new members for the team, which is permitting our growth to accelerate further.”

Key benefits:

• Fixed monthly costs enable accurate financial planning
• Bandwidth included (no surprise egress bills)
• Budget previously spent on infrastructure redirected to hiring
• Faster growth through better resource allocation

Read their story >>

Convesio: Finding a True Infrastructure Partner

Convesio provides managed WordPress hosting with a focus on performance and scalability. They needed infrastructure that could support their technical requirements while providing partnership-level support.

Tom Fanelli, CEO at Convesio, explained: “Your team is the kind of people we would dream of having on our own team. With OpenMetal, we found a true partner, we have more control over the performance of our clouds, and we are able to significantly reduce our cloud costs. These three things make this relationship something I would say yes to a hundred times over.”

Key benefits:

• Direct access to technical team for architecture decisions
• Greater control over performance vs managed platforms
• Substantial cost reduction vs alternatives
• Partnership approach rather than vendor relationship

Read their story >>

Both companies show how startups can build on infrastructure that scales with their business while maintaining sustainable economics.

How to Get Started

Ready to build affordable global infrastructure? Here’s how to move forward.

Step 1: Assess Your Current Situation

Answer these questions:

• What’s your current monthly infrastructure spend?
• Are you using hyperscaler credits? When do they expire?
• How many regions do you need?
• What’s your monthly bandwidth usage?
• Do you have compliance requirements?

If you’re spending $4,000+ monthly on infrastructure, you’re a good fit for the program.

Step 2: Apply for Startup eXcelerator Program

Visit the Startup eXcelerator Program page and complete the application. You’ll provide information about:

• Your company stage and funding
• Current infrastructure needs
• Growth trajectory
• Technical requirements

OpenMetal reviews applications quickly and schedules initial conversations within days.

Step 3: Design Your Architecture

Work with OpenMetal’s technical team to design infrastructure matching your needs:

• Right-size configurations for your workload
• Plan multi-region deployment
• Design for compliance requirements
• Calculate accurate costs
• Plan migration if moving from existing infrastructure

This consultation is included in the program. You get expert architecture review without paying consulting fees.

Step 4: Start Small, Scale Smart

Option A – New deployment:

• Start with one Cloud Core
• Deploy production applications
• Validate performance
• Add regions and capacity as needed

Option B – Migration from hyperscaler:

• Deploy OpenMetal infrastructure in parallel
• Migrate non-critical services first
• Validate performance and costs
• Complete migration incrementally
• Maintain hybrid if beneficial

Option C – Hybrid approach:

• Use OpenMetal for core infrastructure
• Keep hyperscaler for specific managed services
• Optimize costs across both platforms
• Migrate more workloads over time

Step 5: Launch with Confidence

Once infrastructure is configured:

• Deploy applications using OpenStack APIs
• Set up monitoring and alerting
• Configure disaster recovery
• Test failover procedures
• Launch to production

OpenMetal’s team provides hands-on support during launch to ensure everything works correctly.

Step 6: Grow Without Limits

As your startup scales:

• Add capacity when needed (deploys in 45 seconds)
• Expand to new regions for geographic growth
• Optimize configurations based on actual usage
• Work with dedicated account team on capacity planning
• Focus on product, not infrastructure management

Common Questions About the Program

Do I need to commit to long-term contracts?

No. While longer commitments (1, 3, or 5 years) offer additional discounts, you can start month-to-month. The program provides credits based on your commitment level, but you’re not locked in.

What happens if my needs change?

Infrastructure is flexible. You can scale up or down, add or remove regions, and adjust configurations as your business evolves. The account team helps plan changes to match your growth.

Can I use OpenMetal with AWS or GCP?

Yes. Many startups run hybrid environments, using OpenMetal for core infrastructure and hyperscalers for specific managed services. You’re not forced to choose one or the other.

Is migration complicated?

Migration complexity depends on your current setup. OpenMetal’s team helps assess migration requirements and plan the process. Most migrations happen incrementally over weeks, not months, with minimal disruption.

What if I’m below the $4K minimum spend?

If you’re not yet at $4,000 monthly infrastructure spend, consider applying when you reach that threshold. Alternatively, talk to the OpenMetal team about your growth trajectory as we’ll often work with promising startups who will reach scale soon.

Do I get the same support as enterprise customers?

Startup eXcelerator members get prioritized support, dedicated account management, and executive sponsorship. You’re treated as a valued partner, not a small customer.

Wrapping Up: Building Infrastructure That Scales With Your Business

The infrastructure decisions you make at seed stage impact your growth trajectory through Series A and beyond. Hyperscaler credits can help you launch quickly, but planning for long-term sustainable infrastructure prevents costly migrations and improves unit economics as you scale.

OpenMetal’s Startup eXcelerator Program gives you the best of both worlds: credits to reduce initial costs plus infrastructure you can actually afford long-term. For under $15,000 monthly, you can run truly global infrastructure that would cost $50,000+ on AWS or GCP.

The startups that succeed are the ones that make smart infrastructure decisions early. Building on platforms with sustainable economics means more runway, better unit economics, and faster growth. When your infrastructure costs 60% less than competitors using hyperscalers, you have more budget for customer acquisition, product development, and team building.

Whether you’re launching your MVP, planning migration before credits expire, or scaling from Series A to Series B, OpenMetal provides infrastructure that grows with your business without breaking your budget.

Ready to build affordable global infrastructure? Apply for the Startup eXcelerator Program or contact OpenMetal to discuss your specific needs. Your infrastructure should accelerate growth, not constrain it.