Anthropic startup credits: up to $100K (2026)

Max value

Up to $100,000

Stage fit

Any stage if founded within 5 years or funded within 2 years

Takes equity

No

Who files it

You (top tier via investor)

Geography

Global, limited to Anthropic's supported-countries list (185 countries and regions).

Referral needed

Top tier only

Difficulty

Moderate

Review time

Anthropic says it aims to review every application within one week and emails the decision

Credits expire

No program-level expiry is stated on the program page or in the Startup Program Terms.

1. Direct applicant (announced 6 Oct 2026; over capacity as of 10 Oct 2026)
   Free year of Claude Team for up to 5 Premium seats (Anthropic values this at $6,000: 5 seats x $100 per seat per month, billed annually) plus a one-time $1,000 Claude API credit available once approved. Anthropic calls the package 'up to $7,000'; actual value depends on seat count and type.
   Startups founded in the last 5 years or funded in the last 2 years; bootstrapped, pre-seed or venture-backed; the free Team year is only for companies new to Claude Team. As of 10 Oct 2026 the program page no longer lists these two offers in its main sections; its FAQ says Anthropic is over capacity on them, already-claimed offers are unchanged, and all applications will be re-reviewed, which may change some statuses.
2. Partner-VC tier
   Up to $100,000 in additional Claude API credits
   Startups backed by a VC in Anthropic's partner network; credits are claimed through the VC, not the direct form. No partner list appears on the official page, so ask your investor.
3. Claude Startup Stack
   Discounts and credits from partner companies worth 'up to $45,000' at partner list prices (Sept 2026), including ClickHouse $5K Cloud credits, ElevenLabs 12 months free plus 33M characters, Hex 6 months free on Enterprise, Granola 3 months of Business free (up to 10 seats), Augment Code $100 in Cosmos credits, Attention 20% off the first year, Gamma 25% off the first year of Pro annual, Emergent 20% off the first 6 months, Firecrawl 2.5x monthly credits for a year. Offered by independent third parties, not Anthropic, each under its own terms; Anthropic notes a company may not be able to combine all offers.
   Accepted members; redeemed with a code in Claude Console. Existing members can redeem without reapplying.
4. Member perks (non-cash)
   Higher API rate limits, 45-minute Applied AI office hours every other week, help getting a connector or plugin listed on Claude Marketplace, Claude Startup events and hackathons (Claude Founder House in San Francisco ran 6-8 Oct 2026 and has ended), Startup Newsletter
   Accepted members; the rate-limit increase is automatic only for members who receive credits through the program

Geography. Global, limited to Anthropic's supported-countries list (185 countries and regions). Entities incorporated or headquartered in, or majority-owned or controlled from, an unsupported region are not supported, and the Startup Program Terms separately exclude applicants in Belarus, China, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk.

1. 01Check that you meet the founded-within-5-years or funded-within-2-years rule and that your entity is in a supported region (anthropic.com/supported-countries).
2. 02Sign in to, or create, a Claude Console account for your company.
3. 03Open the application at platform.claude.com/offers/startups-application and submit it.
4. 04Wait for the emailed decision. Anthropic says it aims to review every application within one week, but as of 10 Oct 2026 it says it received hundreds of thousands of applications in a few days and will re-review all of them, so expect delay or a changed status.
5. 05If approved, the $1,000 credit is available in Console. Redeem Startup Stack offers with a code in Console and watch email and the Claude Startups portal for office-hours registration links.
6. 06If selected you may be asked to sign an affidavit and publicity release; the Startup Program Terms say benefits may be forfeited if it is not returned within 14 days.
7. 07If a partner-network VC backs you, ask that VC to claim the up-to-$100,000 credits for you. This runs through the VC, not the direct form.

Review time: Anthropic says it aims to review every application within one week and emails the decision. As of 10 Oct 2026 the program page says it received hundreds of thousands of applications over a few days, is over capacity on the Team and $1,000 offers, and will re-review all applications, which may change some statuses.. Apply at platform.claude.com/offers/startups-application.

6 Oct 2026 (SF Tech Week): Anthropic expanded the program to a free year of Claude Team (up to 5 Premium seats), a $1,000 API credit and the Startup Stack (up to $45,000), with eligibility of any startup founded within 5 years or funded within 2 years and no VC required. As of 9 Oct 2026 the official program page carries an FAQ saying Anthropic is over capacity on the Team and $1,000 offers after hundreds of thousands of applications, is reshaping the program, and will re-review all applications; already-claimed offers stay valid and existing members keep the Startup Stack, office hours and events. Re-checked 10 Oct 2026: the page's main sections now list only the Startup Stack (up to $45,000), Applied AI office hours and events; the Team year and $1,000 credit appear only in the over-capacity FAQ. Terms may change again at short notice.

• Oct 10, 2026Claude for Startups re-checked after the expansion
• Oct 6, 2026Anthropic expanded Claude for Startups

Dated change log for every program →

• AWSup to $200KCloud · moderate · referral: top tier only
• Vercelup to $30KCloud · moderate · referral: yes
• OpenAIVC-set creditsAI models · hard · referral: yes

Does not reduce an AWS bill: Anthropic states these credits cannot be used on Amazon Bedrock, only on the first-party Claude API through Console. AWS says Activate credits are accepted for third-party models on Bedrock, so a founder can run Claude through both channels from two separate credit pools. Confirm Bedrock coverage and Marketplace setup with AWS before relying on Activate credits.

• Together AIup to $50KAI models · moderate · referral: no
• Runwareup to $30KAI models · easy · referral: no
• Groq$10K, now closedAI models · hard · referral: no
• ElevenLabsup to $5.5KAI models · easy · referral: no
• Perplexity AI$5K API creditsAI models · hard · referral: yes
• Cohereprogram closedAI models · hard · referral: no

Browse the full directory → Which ones do I qualify for? →