Anthropic is significantly expanding its efforts to support the scientific community, building on the June launch of Claude Science and its AI for Science program. The company is opening 10,000 seats for scientists worldwide to access Claude subscriptions for free or at discounted rates for one year through a new Claude team plan designed specifically for researchers.
Under this plan, standard seats will be free, while premium seats with 5x usage limits will be available for $15 per month. Anthropic intends to extend the program beyond the initial 10,000 seats in the coming months. Eligibility requires being a principal investigator or equivalent at an academic or nonprofit research institution.
The AI for Science program, which provides free credits for high-impact projects, is also being broadened. Previously focused largely on biological sciences, it will now offer credits to researchers in other fields, including those working on ambitious, compute-heavy research. Labs can apply for up to $50,000 in credits per project.
In addition, Anthropic is previewing the Model Hardware Standard (MHS), a specification for AI agents to safely operate physical devices, with a first group of research labs and manufacturers. The company is also launching a $5 million grant program to fund independent research on AI's impact on wellbeing.
For safety, researchers in biology and chemistry remain limited to Opus-class models, while Claude Fable models continue to block professional biology and drug development queries. Anthropic is working with the US government on an access program for life sciences professionals to use Mythos-class models, with first participants already enrolled.