On Tuesday, Anthropic announced an expansion of its Claude for Startups program to provide subsidized access and additional support to qualifying startups using its AI models and related services.
What the updated program includes
Unveiled as part of Anthropic’s SF Tech Week event, the new offering gives qualifying companies one free year of Claude Team, Anthropic’s paid plan for groups, including up to five premium seats. Participating startups also receive $1,000 in API credits for building with the Claude API. The package includes access to the Claude Marketplace, where companies can develop plugins for the service, and the ability to book virtual office hours with Anthropic’s Applied AI team.
Eligibility
Companies are eligible if they were founded within the last five years or if they received funding in the last two years. Interested companies can apply through the Claude for Startups program page.
Why this matters
Anthropic said it created the program because it believes the benefits of AI will reach most people through companies that build on top of models rather than through the models alone. The program is designed to foster closer partnerships with founders and developers by lowering the cost of entry and providing technical and marketplace support for products built on Claude.
Summary
The expanded Claude for Startups program offers early-stage and recently funded startups one year of free Claude Team access (up to five premium seats), $1,000 in API credits, access to Claude Marketplace, and virtual office hours with Anthropic’s Applied AI team to encourage development on its platform.
