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Comment by adamloving | Hacker News Reader

Quick summary: Apply for up to $6K reimbursement per month for up to 6 months for Llama usage (wherever you use it). Incorporated startups with less than $10 million USD in funding are eligible. (disclosure: I work at Meta as Llama Partner Engineer)

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> ... to receive cloud reimbursements of up to $6,000 USD per month for up to six months

Can one apply to this program if they have incorporated in the US (via Stripe Atlas, say), but aren't a US resident?

> Employ at least one developer

What kind of developer? full/part-time or 1099 contractor?

Do I count as the founder? I use contractors from Eastern Europe to do frontend, does that count?

Overall seems like a very niche offering, considering $6K is peanuts these days. You can get more by applying for any of Microsoft, Google, or Amazon startup programs. MSFT for instance straight up gives > $100K in cloud credits when you are funded (and if not, how do you pay your developer?)

Is your business incorporated? I'm checking on whether contractors count towards the 1 developer requirement.

Can I incorporate tonight and apply?

It is. But the question is more hypothetical. The offer seems to have a very limited value.

Let me check on that just to be sure.

Does this just apply to API cost or finetuning/hosting on prem cost?

Great question, I'll check on that.

Is this pure reimbursement or are there any strings attached?

The 6k is only for AI cloud hosting.

> Join us for the opportunity to receive cloud reimbursements of up to $6,000 USD per month for up to six months, technical resources, and a vibrant community

It's reimbursement for Llama usage, and Meta is hoping you'll provide feedback on how Llama works for your scenario.

> disclosure: I work at Meta as Llama Partner Engineer

Do you know of any programmes for Tertiary Education initiatives?

Not that I know of for Llama... but checkout https://forwork.meta.com/meta-for-education/

Thanks :) A/VR is not my thing. Hopefully they will do something in the future. Tertiary Education is in crisis thanks to AI, but it’s also going to supercharge it and that’s where research is needed.

How does this program, or the adoption of Llama in general, benefit Meta?

If you come up with a great idea, then Facebook can either steal it from you or buy you out without them having to spend the funds to test all of the potential options.

Facebook hasn't had a good idea for over a decade (and even that one was trash), so they need a little help now and again.

Meta wants feedback from startups on how Llama can be improved.

Shut it down is the best thing you could do for it and for society. You work for a spyware company.

Meta doesn't have a business providing straight up API usage. This is a new market, if they can get startups relying on Llama hosting, then there's no reason this can't be a whole new market.

Will payments to OpenRouter for hosted llama calls qualify?

Yes. You will just need to document how much of your OpenRouter bill was for Llama usage (like provide screenshots if its not broken down on your invoices or receipts).

Hi! Does it have to be a legally incorporated company?

What is a non-legally incorporated company?

An unincorporated association or sole proprietorship, for example.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unincorporated_association

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sole_proprietorship

You literally linked to something called "unincorporated".

Yes. That's what the "does it have to be legally incorporated" question is implicitly contrasting with, by my reading. (Not against some putative "non-legally incorporated company".)

A ton of one-person shops don’t spend the effort and money to legally incorporate in some manner.

Yes

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