ANTHROPIC EXPANDS CLAUDE FOR STARTUPS PROGRAMME

Anthropic has announced an expansion of its Claude for Startups programme, widening eligibility and increasing the benefits available to qualifying companies. The updated scheme is open to companies founded within the past five years, or those that received funding within the past two years. Anthropic said the change reflects its view that AI will help bring "faster scientific discoveries, entirely new categories of products and more capable businesses" to more startups. The expanded programme was announced as part of Anthropic's SF Tech Week event.

Successful applicants receive up to $7,000 worth of Claude products and credits, made up of a one-time $1,000 API credit and a free year of Claude Team with up to five Premium seats, with the seats available only to companies new to Claude Team. The API credits become available once a company is approved and expire after six months. Anthropic said the wider programme can be worth up to $45,000 in partner offers, plus up to $100,000 in additional API credits available through venture capital partners where applicable. Companies also gain access to Claude Marketplace, which allows them to build connectors and plug-ins for the service.

Beyond financial benefits, Anthropic said members can book office hours with its Applied AI team to discuss practical use cases and technical limitations of AI for their businesses. The company also pointed to in-person events, including hackathons and meet-ups, intended to connect founders with peers in the programme. Anthropic said many "fast-growing AI-native companies" have already joined, and that this next phase opens the scheme to a broader range of startups. No further details on timing or specific new entrants were given.