Amazon Eyes Decart AI Startup for $7 Billion
Key Summary
Amazon is in talks to acquire AI startup Decart for about $7 billion, according to Bloomberg, as the company seeks to improve AI model performance across different hardware platforms.
Overview
Amazon is negotiating to buy AI startup Decart in a deal valued at about $7 billion, according to Bloomberg. The talks are ongoing, and no formal agreement has been reached. The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the situation, reported the negotiations on October 11, 2026, and described them as early-stage but apparently moving toward a conclusion.What Decart Offers
Decart's core business is making AI models run better. Its main product is the Decart Optimization Stack, or DOS, a software layer that improves how AI models perform across different hardware. The supported platforms tell the story. DOS works across NVIDIA GPUs, Google's TPUs, and Amazon's own Trainium chips. Decart also builds its own models. Lucy is a real-time video and world model aimed at uses like virtual try-ons, the kind of feature that lets shoppers see clothing on themselves without leaving the couch.Market Context
The second model, Oasis, is an interactive world model. It generates environments that respond to user input, a category drawing growing attention from AI labs exploring simulation and gaming. A startup with Decart was founded on September 7, 2023. It employs more than 60 people and has raised over $450 million.Market Reaction
Amazon is not the first suitor. Decart has previously drawn interest from Anthropic and NVIDIA, according to the research compiled on the deal. Anthropic reportedly weighed a $6 billion deal earlier in 2026. It walked away after due diligence and exited the process in September 2026. So Amazon's reported offer sits about $1 billion above where Anthropic was reportedly looking. There is an interesting wrinkle here. Amazon has been a major backer of Anthropic, which means the startup's reported pass did not keep Amazon itself from pursuing the same target.Why compute is the real prize The timing ties directly to the compute supply crunch hitting much of the AI industry. Companies building and running models are competing for limited chip capacity, and that scarcity has made efficiency software unusually valuable. Hardware flexibility adds another layer. Being able to move AI workloads between NVIDIA, Google, and Amazon silicon gives customers options at a time when depending on a single supplier carries real risk. There is an obvious tension, of course. A neutral optimization layer that works well on rival chips becomes a little less neutral once one of those rivals owns it.