Amazon Weighs $7 Billion Acquisition of AI Startup Decart

Amazon is reportedly weighing a roughly $7 billion acquisition of Decart, an artificial intelligence startup that develops software to help developers run AI workloads across different chip architectures. The potential Amazon Decart acquisition could strengthen Amazon Web Services’ custom AI chip business as technology companies seek more computing capacity for AI models and applications. Talks could conclude soon, although the discussions may still fall apart or attract another bidder.

Amazon targets software expertise for its Trainium chips

Amazon Web Services (AWS) gave Decart early access to its custom Trainium3 chip in 2025. Trainium is a family of processors designed to train and run machine learning and generative AI models. The chips compete with processors developed by Nvidia, a major supplier of AI computing hardware.

Decart’s software helps developers switch between chips, an ability that is becoming more relevant as businesses work with different computing systems. Companies developing AI applications need access to computing power, while chip makers compete to provide the hardware used to train and run those systems.

Market strategist Shay Boloor said Amazon would effectively be buying software expertise to improve Trainium utilization and make its custom chips more attractive as AI workloads expand across different architectures.

Boloor also cited Decart’s reported work on real-time video generation. According to his post, the startup increased processing performance from around 26 frames per second on GPUs to approximately 101 frames per second on Trainium. These figures highlight the potential role of software optimization in improving performance on specialized AI hardware.

Amazon declined to comment on the reported acquisition discussions, stating that it does not comment on speculation. Decart had not immediately responded to a request for comment at the time of the report.

The reported $7 billion price would put the potential Amazon Decart acquisition above Decart’s latest reported valuation of nearly $4 billion. However, the companies have not announced a completed deal.

Decart’s funding and previous acquisition interest

Decart was founded in 2023 by Dean Leitersdorf, Moshe Shalev, and Orian Leitersdorf. The company develops real-time generative video technology and interactive world models, including products called Oasis and Lucy.

In May, Decart raised $300 million in a Series B funding round led by Radical Ventures. Nvidia also participated in the round, while existing investors Sequoia Capital, Benchmark, and Zeev Ventures were involved. The funding valued Decart at nearly $4 billion.

The startup had also attracted reported acquisition interest from Anthropic. In September, Anthropic was reported to have ended discussions over a potential purchase of Decart for around $6 billion. The reported Amazon talks would represent a separate potential transaction at a higher price.

The interest in Decart reflects the growing business focus on software that can improve the use of AI computing infrastructure. As companies deploy AI systems across different processors, tools that help developers adapt workloads may affect how efficiently they use available hardware.

Amazon shares closed on Friday at $262.43, up 3.29%. The stock gained a further 0.038% to $262.53 in extended trading.

The Amazon Decart acquisition remains under discussion, and its outcome is uncertain. If completed, the deal would add Decart’s software capabilities to Amazon’s broader efforts to expand its custom AI chip business.