Anthropic gives approved startups a free year of Claude Team, $1,000 in API credits and partner perks. It is not guaranteed, and the program page says it is over capacity. Here is what you get, how to apply, and what to check before you submit.
Free Claude Team seats for a year.
Claude API credits, valid 6 months from issue.
Top value of partner discounts and credits.
How fast Anthropic says it aims to review an application.
Source: Claude for Startups program page
1. What you get
Approved startups get a free year of Claude Team, up to 5 premium seats. You also get $1,000 in Claude API credits and higher API rate limits.
Partners add discounts and credits worth up to $45,000. Office hours with Anthropic's Applied AI team are included too.
Do this today: write down which of these you would actually use. Team seats? API credits? Partner tools?
2. Who can apply
Your company must be founded in the last 5 years, or funded in the last 2. You do not need a VC. Bootstrapped, pre-seed and venture-backed companies can all apply.
Anthropic decides eligibility. It looks at traction, funding and how you use Claude.
Do this today: check your company's founding date. If it is inside 5 years, you are in.
3. Apply in five steps
- 01
Sign in to the Claude Console
Go to platform.claude.com and log in.
- 02
Use your company email
It must match your website's domain. Not Gmail. Not Yahoo.
- 03
Fill out the application
Open platform.claude.com/offers/startups-application and complete it.
- 04
Wait for the email
Anthropic says it aims to review each application within a week.
- 05
Redeem your offers
If approved, redeem the offers in the Console and start using the credits.
Do this today: open the Console and confirm you can log in with your company email.
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4. Partner perks
These come from independent companies, not Anthropic. Each has its own terms.
- ElevenLabs: 12 months free plus 33M characters.
- Gamma: 25% off the first year of Gamma Pro annual.
- ClickHouse: $5K in ClickHouse Cloud credits.
- Firecrawl: 2.5x your plan's monthly credits for a year.
- Granola: 3 months of Business free, up to 10 seats.
- Hex: 6 months free on the Enterprise plan.
- Augment Code: $100 in Cosmos credits.
The full list is on the program page.
Do this today: pick the one partner tool you would pay for anyway. Redeem that first.
5. The catches
Anthropic's program page says it received hundreds of thousands of applications. It says it is over capacity on the free Claude Team and $1,000 credit offers, and is re-reviewing applications. Check the page for the current status before you apply.
- Credits expire 6 months after they are issued. The free Team seats run the full year.
- Credits work only on Anthropic's own API through the Console. You cannot use them on AWS Bedrock or Google Vertex AI.
- $1,000 and 5 seats will not cover a growing team. Partner offers are mostly discounts or trials, not cash.
- Approval is not guaranteed, and the terms can change.
Sources: TechCrunch (Oct 6, 2026), Quartz, and the program page.
Do this today: plan what you will build with the credits in the first 30 days.
6. Before you submit
- Your company email and website domain match.
- Your company is under 5 years old, or funded in the last 2.
- You have a use for the credits within 6 months.
- You checked the program page for the current offer status.
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