Anthropic sweetens its startup program to make Claude stick

Anthropic is expanding Claude Startups, a program designed to get young companies building their products around its AI models early. Eligible founders can receive a year of Claude Team for up to five users, $1,000 in API credits—the pay-as-you-go access developers use to put Claude inside their own software—and partner offers worth up to $45,000, along with technical office hours. The immediate help is useful because early-stage companies face both software bills and the harder task of turning a quickly built AI prototype into a distinct business. But the larger bet is strategic: if a startup builds its product, workflows and customer base around Claude now, Anthropic has a better chance of keeping that company as a customer as it grows, rather than losing it to rival AI platforms.