Anthropic Expands Claude For Startups With Free Team Plan And API Credits
· TexaHub · AI in Industry, LLMs & Foundation Models
Anthropic is offering eligible startups a free year of Claude Team and $1,000 in API credits, announced during San Francisco Tech Week.
What the program offers
Anthropic expanded its Claude for Startups program on 6 October 2026, announcing it during its San Francisco Tech Week event, TechCrunch reported. Approved founders receive one year of Claude Team, free for up to five Premium seats, plus $1,000 in API credits [1][2].
The program page also lists up to $45,000 in partner offers, office hours with Anthropic's Applied AI team and event invitations, including Founder House on 6-8 October in San Francisco [2].
Eligibility and limits
Startups founded within the last five years or funded within the last two years can apply [1][2]. The credits expire six months after being granted and apply only to the first-party Claude API, not to AWS Bedrock or Google Vertex AI, according to the program page [2]. Anthropic said it believes AI's benefits will reach most people "through the companies that build on top of models" [1].
Sources
[1] Anthropic is giving startups a free year of Claude Team and $1,000 in credits — TechCrunch, 6 Oct 2026
[2] Claude for Startups — Anthropic, Oct 2026