# What Claude (Anthropic) with web search answered for business formation services (startups) on 2026-10-26

## In short

On 2026-10-26, Claude (Anthropic) with web search was asked "best business formation services for startups". It named 14 brands; the first six, in order, were Clerky, Stripe Atlas, EIN, Gunderson Dettmer, Cooley and Orrick.

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Question | best business formation services for startups |
| Asked on | 2026-10-26 |
| Engine | Claude (Anthropic) with web search |
| Model | claude-opus-5 |
| Brands named | 14 |
| Sources cited | 6 |
| Audience | startups |
| Coverage | Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included. |
| Last verified | 2026-10-26 |

Page: https://bikoosh.com/answers/s/business-formation-services-startups-2026-10-26
Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.

## The answer, as recorded

Asked on 2026-10-26 through Claude (Anthropic) with web search (model claude-opus-5).

> The right answer depends a lot on whether "startup" means venture-track (you'll raise from investors, Delaware C-corp, stock splits among cofounders) or small business (LLC, you own it, no outside equity). Here's who I'd actually name, in order:
> 
> **If you're venture-track and plan to raise:**
> 
> 1. **Clerky** - This is what I'd pick, and it's what most YC-adjacent founders use. It's not just a filing service: it handles the full paperwork chain that actually matters later - incorporation, founder stock purchase agreements with vesting, 83(b) elections, IP assignments, SAFEs and priced rounds. The reason this matters is that cleanup from botched early paperwork is the single most common diligence headache in a seed round, and Clerky's documents are the ones investor lawyers expect to see. ~$819 for the lifetime package, Delaware corporations only. ([rho.co](https://www.rho.co/blog/stripe-atlas-vs-clerky), [startupsavant.com](https://startupsavant.com/service-reviews/stripe-atlas-vs-clerky))
> 
> 2. **Stripe Atlas** - The fastest and cheapest credible path to a Delaware C-corp: $500 one-time including the first year of registered agent, then $100/year, incorporated in 1-2 business days. It

## Brands named, in the order the engine gave

| Position | Brand | How it was named |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clerky | mentioned |
| 2 | Stripe Atlas | mentioned |
| 3 | EIN | mentioned |
| 4 | Gunderson Dettmer | mentioned |
| 5 | Cooley | mentioned |
| 6 | Orrick | mentioned |
| 7 | Wilson Sonsini | mentioned |
| 8 | Firstbase | mentioned |
| 9 | Northwest | recommended |
| 10 | Northwest Registered Agent | recommended |
| 11 | Bizee | mentioned |
| 12 | LegalZoom | mentioned |
| 13 | Rocket Lawyer | mentioned |
| 14 | Rho | mentioned |

## Sources the engine cited

- https://www.rho.co/blog/stripe-atlas-vs-clerky (vendor)
- https://startupsavant.com/service-reviews/stripe-atlas-vs-clerky (other)
- https://www.rho.co/blog/stripe-atlas-vs-firstbase (vendor)
- https://www.rho.co/blog/best-incorporation-services (vendor)
- https://www.newsweek.com/readerschoice/best-business-formation-service-2026 (other)
- https://startupsavant.com/best-incorporation-services-for-startups (other)

The question page: https://bikoosh.com/answers/q/business-formation-services/startups

Alerts and membership: Answer Watch Pro, 79 USD per month: https://bikoosh.com/answers. Bikoosh is monitoring assistance, not complete protection.

Answer Watch records what one AI answer engine said on one date, nothing more. Each page names the engine and the model, carries the date the question was asked, and lists the brands that appeared in the answer in the order the engine gave them, with the sources it cited. It is a measurement, not a ranking, not a recommendation and not a claim about the world. Brands that did not appear in an answer are not named on any public page. Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.