Breaking· Tech· Updated
Amazon in Advanced Talks to Acquire Israeli AI Startup Decart for $7 Billion
Amazon is in advanced negotiations to acquire the Israeli artificial intelligence startup Decart, also referred to as Descartes, for approximately $7 billion. The potential transaction, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, would mark one of the largest exits in the history of Israeli high-tech. While the deal could be finalized soon, it remains uncertain if the discussions will lead to a successful acquisition.
6 newsrooms · 3 languages · since
What happened
- 01Amazon is in advanced talks to acquire Israeli AI startup Decart for approximately $7 billion.
- 02The potential deal would represent one of the largest exits in the history of Israeli high-tech.
- 03Decart was founded in 2023 by Dean and Orian Leitersdorf and Moshe Shalev, and has raised over $400 million.
- 04The startup's core software technology allows AI models to run efficiently across different computing chips.
- 05A previous $6 billion acquisition deal with Anthropic collapsed after the founders refused to relocate from Israel.
- 06Decart's founders had also previously rejected an acquisition offer from Nvidia.
- 07Amazon is already a strategic client of Decart and has previously granted it early access to its Trainium3 chip.
Founded in 2023 by Dean and Orian Leitersdorf and Moshe Shalev, who is also referred to as Moshe Shilo, the company is based in San Francisco and has raised over $400 million from prominent venture capital firms. Decart's core technology, the Decart Optimization Stack, allows AI models to run efficiently across different manufacturers' chips and drastically speeds up hardware adaptation. The company also develops world models, such as Lucy and Oasis, for live video editing and virtual world generation.
The potential acquisition follows a series of previous offers for the startup. Decart's founders previously rejected an acquisition offer from Nvidia, and a subsequent $6 billion deal with Anthropic collapsed after Anthropic withdrew during due diligence. According to Israel Hayom, the Anthropic deal failed because Decart's founders refused to relocate the company's development center from Israel to Silicon Valley.
For Amazon, which is already a strategic client of Decart and previously granted the startup early access to its Trainium3 chip, the acquisition is seen as a strategic move to enhance its cloud offerings, increase flexibility in its AI infrastructure, and reduce its reliance on Nvidia chips.
Summarized by baba from the reports of 4 newsrooms. Updated
Latest report: The Jerusalem Post. Read The Jerusalem Post’s original
The coverage
6 newsrooms on this story
Who covered it
- LeftNone
- Centre2
- Right2
- HarediNone
- Arab1
- Other1
