New Delhi, Oct. 7 -- Anthropic has expanded its Claude Startups program, offering eligible early-stage companies up to $7,000 in Claude products and credits, alongside discounts and credits worth up to $45,000 from third-party software providers.

For Anthropic, however, the program is about more than subsidizing the first few months of AI development. By getting startups to build on Claude early, the company is creating a pathway for those businesses to become longer-term users of its models, APIs and wider ecosystem as they scale.

Anthropic announced the expansion on October 6, saying it wants to open the program to more founders after launching Claude Startups earlier this year.

Eligible startups can receive a free year of Claude Tea...