What happened
Amazon is reportedly in advanced negotiations to acquire Decart, an AI startup founded by Israeli engineers, for approximately $7 billion. The acquisition would secure Decart's software, which allows developers to switch between different AI chips, and its models for 3D environments. This move follows Decart's recent funding rounds and prior interest from Nvidia and Anthropic.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Amazon is in talks to acquire Decart, an artificial intelligence startup founded in Israel, in a transaction valued at approximately $7 billion. The report indicates that the deal could be finalized soon, contingent on the success of ongoing negotiations.
Decart, based in San Francisco, was founded in 2023 by three Israeli engineers: brothers Dean and Orian Leitersdorf, and Moshe Shalev. The company has raised over $400 million from venture capital firms including Sequoia Capital, , and Radical Ventures. In May, Decart was valued at nearly $4 billion, suggesting a significant valuation increase if the $7 billion deal proceeds.
The core of Decart's technology involves software that facilitates the switching of AI workloads between different types of AI chips. This capability is becoming increasingly critical as companies compete to secure computing power and avoid dependency on a single hardware provider. The company is also developing AI models, including Lucy and Oasis, which are capable of generating and simulating three-dimensional environments based on real-world data.
The Wall Street Journal noted that both Nvidia and Anthropic had previously expressed interest in acquiring Decart, but those negotiations reportedly collapsed in recent months. Amazon's interest appears to be linked to its own AI chip development, specifically the Trainium 3, which is designed to compete with Nvidia's dominant graphics processing units. An earlier WSJ report indicated that Amazon granted Decart early access to its chips in 2025 after being impressed by the founders.
Source details: ynetnews.com ↗
Why it matters
This potential acquisition signals Amazon's strategic pivot toward software abstraction layers that mitigate hardware dependency in AI infrastructure. By acquiring Decart, Amazon could reduce the lock-in effects of Nvidia's GPU dominance and enhance the flexibility of its own Trainium chip ecosystem. The deal also highlights the growing value of 'chip-agnostic' software in the AI supply chain, a critical component for enterprises seeking to optimize compute costs and diversify their hardware portfolios.
The acquisition would represent a significant strategic move for Amazon to strengthen its AI infrastructure stack. By acquiring Decart, Amazon would gain access to software that abstracts the hardware layer, allowing for greater flexibility in deploying AI models across different chip architectures. This is particularly relevant as Amazon seeks to reduce its reliance on Nvidia's GPUs, which currently dominate the market for AI training and inference.
The deal also underscores the rising importance of 'chip-agnostic' software in the AI industry. As the cost of AI compute continues to rise, companies are looking for ways to optimize their hardware usage and avoid being locked into a single vendor. Decart's technology could provide a crucial tool for enterprises and cloud providers to manage this complexity, potentially reshaping the competitive landscape of AI infrastructure.
Furthermore, Decart's development of 3D environment generation models adds another dimension to its value proposition. These models could have applications in various fields, including gaming, simulation, and digital twins, providing Amazon with additional capabilities in its AI portfolio. The acquisition would thus not only strengthen Amazon's hardware strategy but also expand its software and model offerings.
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What to watch next
Monitor for official confirmation from Amazon or Decart, as well as regulatory scrutiny regarding antitrust concerns in the AI infrastructure market. Additionally, watch for how this acquisition impacts the competitive dynamics between Amazon's Trainium chips and Nvidia's GPUs, and whether Decart's 3D generation models will be integrated into AWS services.
The primary factor to watch is the official confirmation of the deal. While The Wall Street Journal reports that negotiations are underway, no official announcement has been made by Amazon or Decart. The deal could still collapse, as happened with previous potential acquirers like Nvidia and Anthropic.
Regulatory scrutiny is another key area to monitor. Given the size of the deal and the strategic importance of AI infrastructure, antitrust authorities in the US and other jurisdictions may review the acquisition to ensure it does not reduce competition in the AI chip and software markets.
The integration of Decart's technology into Amazon's existing AI services, such as AWS and its Trainium chips, will also be a point of interest. How Amazon leverages Decart's software to enhance its own hardware offerings could have significant implications for the broader AI industry.