TechCrunch — AI · October 6, 2026 · 2 min read

Anthropic is giving startups a free year of Claude Team and $1,000 in credits

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In Brief

Posted:

9:00 AM PDT · October 6, 2026

The Claude app icon is displayed on a smartphone screen — **Image Credits:**Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto / Getty Images

Russell Brandom

Anthropic is giving startups a free year of Claude Team and $1,000 in credits

On Tuesday, Anthropic announced an expansion of its Claude for Startups program, offering subsidized access to its AI models and a variety of other benefits to qualifying companies.

The new version of the program, which launched as part of Anthropic’s SF Tech Week event, provides a free year of Claude Team, Anthropic’s paid plan for groups, with up to five premium seats, as well as $1,000 in API credits for building with Claude. Companies will also get access to Claude Marketplace, which lets them build plugins for the service. Companies can also book virtual office hours with Anthropic’s Applied AI team.

“We created this program because we believe the benefits of AI will reach most people through the companies that build on top of models, rather than through the models alone,” Anthropic said in an announcement. “That makes partnering closely with founders and developers central to our mission.”

Companies are eligible if they were founded in the last five years or received funding in the last two years. Interested companies can apply through the Claude for Startups program page.

Topics

AI, Anthropic, TC

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