Amazon in Talks to Buy AI Startup Decart for $7 Billion to Boost Custom Chip Strategy

Amazon Pursues Strategic AI Chip Software Acquisition

Amazon is in advanced discussions to acquire Decart, an AI startup specializing in chip-switching software, in a deal valued at approximately $7 billion1

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. The acquisition could finalize within days, provided negotiations don't collapse or another bidder doesn't emerge3

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. This move represents Amazon's largest potential acquisition since its $11 billion Globalstar deal earlier this year and would surpass the $6.5 billion MGM purchase in 20224

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Decart was valued at nearly $4 billion in May when it raised $300 million in Series B funding led by Radical Ventures, bringing total capital raised to over $400 million1

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. Major investors include Nvidia Ventures, Adobe Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Benchmark3

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. The startup was founded in 2023 by Israeli software engineers Dean Leitersdorf, Moshe Shalev, and Orian Leitersdorf1

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Critical Software for Amazon's Custom Silicon Strategy

Decart has developed DOS, a platform that dramatically accelerates AI model optimization across different processors. What traditionally took months can now be compressed into just a couple of weeks1

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. This AI chip software capability has become increasingly valuable as companies scramble to secure computing power for their applications2

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. Market strategist Shay Boloor noted that Amazon is "effectively buying software expertise" to improve Trainium utilization and make its custom silicon more competitive as AI workloads spread across different chip architectures3

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Amazon Web Services granted Decart early access to its custom Trainium3 chip in 2025 after senior AWS engineers met with the startup's founders and were reportedly impressed by their capabilities1

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. Trainium3 competes directly with processors from Nvidia, which continues dominating the market for graphics processing units powering the AI boom4

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. The acquisition would strengthen Amazon's position as it develops alternatives to Nvidia's dominance in AI infrastructure.

Generative Video Models and Interactive World Models

Beyond AI model optimization software, Decart has developed breakthrough generative video models and interactive world models. The Lucy model, backed by Nvidia, enables real-time video editing capabilities2

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. The Oasis model generates and simulates realistic real-world 3D environments for video games, robotics training, and autonomous systems1

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. These capabilities position Decart at the intersection of multiple high-growth AI applications.

The DOS platform's neural network optimization enables companies to shift AI workloads between different processors when requirements change or chip availability becomes constrained1

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. This flexibility addresses a critical pain point as organizations face ongoing challenges securing sufficient computing power for their AI initiatives.

Anthropic Previously Walked Away from Similar Deal

Amazon isn't the only major tech company to pursue Decart. Last month, Anthropic was reportedly in talks to acquire the AI startup for approximately $6 billion but ultimately walked away after conducting due diligence1

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. The reasons behind Anthropic's decision to abandon the deal remain unclear1

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. Israeli news outlet Calcalist recently reported that Decart was in advanced acquisition talks with a major technology company4

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The Amazon in talks to buy Decart scenario suggests the e-commerce giant sees strategic value that Anthropic may have missed or couldn't justify. Watch for whether another suitor emerges to challenge Amazon's bid, particularly given Decart's investor base includes Nvidia Ventures, which might have strategic interest in the outcome. The acquisition would give Amazon critical software expertise to compete more effectively against Nvidia's ecosystem dominance while expanding capabilities across robotics, autonomous systems, and generative AI applications.