Anthropic announced on Tuesday that it is expanding its Claude Startups program, the latest move by the artificial intelligence lab to strengthen ties with founders and fast-growing companies.

According to Anthropic, Claude Startups first launched in May and has already drawn participation from thousands of companies. The company is opening the program to more organizations, with members receiving thousands of dollars' worth of Anthropic Claude products and credits to support their development.

"Startups are often the first to push Claude to its limits," said Beth Robertson, head of startups at Anthropic, in a statement. "When new models are released, they are ready on day one to take on projects that once seemed out of reach. Claude Startups gives founders credits, tools, and direct time with our team, so more companies can build this way from the very start."

The vast majority of Anthropic's revenue comes from its enterprise customers, and for much of the past year it has sought to hold off rivals such as OpenAI and Google, both of which also offer their own programs for startups.

As Anthropic prepares for what is widely expected to be a blockbuster initial public offering, it is working to ensure that the next generation of enterprises will build using its products.

Claude Startup members can receive up to $45,000 in discounts and credits through the Claude Startup Stack, which Anthropic describes as "a set of benefits for the tools startups run on."

In addition, eligible organizations can obtain a one-time $1,000 application programming interface (API) credit, along with free one-year access to Claude Team with up to five premium seats.

Anthropic said members can also meet with the company's applied AI team through virtual office hours and connect with other members of the Claude Startup community at events.

Anthropic said startups founded within the past five years or that have raised funding within the past two years can apply.