How to Get Started With AI Inference in Under 5 Minutes — July 2026
By Marcus Lowe, Solutions Lead
Before you start
Good news: there's almost nothing to set up. AI Inference is designed so you can go from "curious" to "running" without an engineering project. Here's the exact path.
Step 1 — Open the door (zero cost)
Head to the AI Inference page and hit Start. There's no contract and no upfront cost — zero upfront · usage-based. This is the single biggest reason teams stall on AI adoption, and AI Inference removes it entirely.
Step 2 — Connect what you already use
AI Inference plugs into your existing stack with one-click integrations. No migration nightmares, no rip-and-replace. Most teams are live in their workflow in under two minutes.
Step 3 — Put it to work
Pick your first job. The highest-leverage starting points we see:
- Serve production models at scale
- Cut inference latency dramatically
- Consolidate many models on one layer
- Handle unpredictable traffic spikes
Step 4 — Lean on the features that move the needle
- Microsecond Latency. Serve responses with latency measured in microseconds, consistently.
- Any Model. Deploy any model — open, proprietary, or your own — on one layer.
- Planet-Scale Volume. Serve from a handful to billions of requests without re-architecting.
- Autoscaling. Scale to demand instantly and back down to zero idle cost.
Step 5 — Scale as you win
Because the model is a partnership, you scale at your own pace and Scale shares in the upside. Start small, prove value, then expand — the pricing rewards growth instead of punishing it.
Common questions
How low is latency really? Measured in microseconds, and it stays consistent under planet-scale load.
Can I deploy my own models? Yes — any model, open or proprietary, deploys on the same layer.
That's it. Five minutes from now you could be running the same technology that helped build the AI industry.
Ready to see it for yourself? Start with AI Inference — free to start → Zero upfront cost. We only win when you win.