Hatch is DigitalOcean’s global program for startups that provides select technology companies with cloud infrastructure credits and discounts, direct access to DigitalOcean’s product experts for personalized guidance, priority technical support, and access to a thriving community of like-minded founders . By keeping infrastructure and cost management simple, the Hatch program enables startups to build tech solutions that make an impact.
For Georgi Petrov and Mihail Stoychev, the co-founders and serial entrepreneurs behind Uxify, choosing DigitalOcean to host their startup’s infrastructure was a no-brainer. They built their previous ventures NitroPack, SMSBump, and iSenseLabs on DigitalOcean and could trust the platform’s simplicity, reliability, and user experience. When it came time to power Uxify’s AI-enabled website performance solution and AI agent Uxi, they opted for DigitalOcean again With Hatch program benefits like cloud credits and GPU Droplet discounts, Uxify could focus on building and scaling their underlying AI infrastructure.
Uxify’s story begins over a decade ago with iSenseLabs, an agency that provided services but also built and sold its own products. One of those products was NitroPack, a performance optimization tool designed to help websites load faster. As NitroPack gained traction, the team began seeing possibilities beyond their current solution.
Fast forward to 2024, the team behind NitroPack reached a pivotal moment. They began rethinking web performance and user’s perception of site responsiveness… This new philosophy led them to develop Navigation AI, a performance solution focused on user experience rather than purely technical metrics. Around the same time, NitroPack was acquired by WP Engine. As part of that acquisition, the emerging Navigation AI project was spun out into a new company: Uxify.
When they built their first venture iSenseLabs in 2012, Petrov and Stoychev chose DigitalOcean to host their cloud infrastructure. Impressed by the products’ ease of use and deployment, the duo knew that they had found the right cloud provider for their startups. Today, they employ a full suite of DigitalOcean products including Droplets, GPU Droplets, Managed Kubernetes, and Load Balancers.
“As a startup, time to market is essential and the simplicity of DigitalOcean cut all the noise and removed a lot of bureaucracy compared to some of the other providers. DigitalOcean has been amazing. It has always been there, always reliable, always predictable, and always easy to track what is going on. In the rare cases where we have something that is going off the charts, it’s easy to understand where the issue is and fix it.”
— Georgi Petrov, CEO @ Uxify
Uxify also isn’t Petrov and Stoychev’s first startup to go through the Hatch program. While building NitroPack, their venture capital investor, Eleven, informed them that they had an offering with the Hatch program. After reaping the benefits of the program the first time, they decided to apply for the Hatch program again with Uxify. The credits provided by the Hatch program allowed them to experiment with their infrastructure for both NitroPack and Uxify without worrying about costs during the pre-revenue phase of their businesses.
Why DigitalOcean? According to Petrov, DigitalOcean has always been startup-friendly. Back in 2018, they were asked to be a part of DigitalOcean’s Kubernetes beta program. “DigitalOcean was very responsive in listening to feedback and improving the solution, which is why we continue to use it,” says Petrov.
Founding a startup involves countless sleepless nights, putting out operational fires, and an abundance of caffeine. Although it’s challenging, Petrov continues founding companies because he enjoys creating value for others.
“After the first major acquisition with SMSBump, we felt a little bit empty. It’s a lifetime achievement. It’s a milestone. You get somewhere and you say, ‘Okay, I know I should be a successful guy,’ but actually, you feel a little bit empty because you stop the day-to-day thinking of how to create more value for someone else,” says Petrov. “After a few months of feeling that way, we said, ‘okay, we need to continue to being useful for others.’”
Uxify is moving toward its full launch to bring performance insights to website owners everywhere. By joining the Hatch program, founders like Petrov and Stoychev are able to build, experiment, and scale, developing products that delight and create value for their customers.
Startups accepted into Hatch receive*:
Up to $100,000 in compute credits
Privilege GradientAI NVIDIA H100 GPU Droplet pricing of $1.90/hour/GPU
Privilege GradientAI NVIDIA H100 GPU Kubernetes pricing of $1.90/hour/node
3 months of free GPU usage for select startups
Complimentary Standard-tier support
GradientAI Platform usage with Hatch credits
Access to a thriving community of founders and builders
*Note that GPU Droplet, GPU Kubernetes, and Bare Metal usage will not be covered by Hatch compute credits. This pricing is only eligible for startups who are a part of the Hatch program, and only applies to on-demand NVIDIA H100 GPU Droplets and NVIDIA H100 GPU Kubernetes. Pricing is subject to change. This offer is accurate as of July 10, 2025.
Interested in joining the Hatch program to grow your startup? Visit do.co/hatch to learn more about the program and apply or contact our team at hatch@digitalocean.com with any questions.
Krystal Fernandez