WSJ: Amazon in talks to buy AI startup Decart for about $7B, weeks after Anthropic walked away from a ~$6B deal
Partly confirmed
The takeaway
On Oct 11, 2026 the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon is in talks to acquire the AI startup Decart in a deal that could value it at around $7 billion, up from a valuation of nearly $4 billion in May.
Status
- Claim
Partly confirmed
- Our reporting
- Medium confidence
- Importance
- 3 of 5
- Last verified
- 12 October 2026
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Key facts
- Source: Wall Street Journal, Oct 11, 2026, citing people familiar with the matter (paywalled); read here through Reuters (via The Straits Times), Techmeme and Finimize
- Price: a deal ‘could be valued at around $7 billion’; a deal could happen soon unless talks fall apart or another suitor emerges (WSJ via Reuters)
- Decart was valued at nearly $4B in May 2026 (PitchBook data cited by the WSJ), when it raised $300M in a round led by Radical Ventures with Nvidia as a new investor (Reuters)
- Anthropic: explored an acquisition in August for potentially $6B and decided in September not to pursue it after due diligence (Bloomberg, per Reuters)
- What Decart does: the WSJ’s subheading says its ‘software makes it easier for developers to switch between different AI chips’ (Techmeme); Reuters describes its Lucy model, which edits live video in real time, and Oasis, which generates simulated environments to train and test robots and self-driving systems
- Reuters could not verify the report; Amazon and Decart did not respond to requests for comment
What happened
The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, Oct 11, that Amazon is negotiating to buy Decart. The reported price of about $7 billion would be close to double the valuation of its May funding round. According to Bloomberg reporting cited by Reuters, Anthropic had looked at buying the company in August for up to about $6 billion and decided against it in September after due diligence.
Note: the WSJ article is paywalled; this entry was written from the Reuters summary (as carried by The Straits Times), Techmeme’s headline and Finimize. Bloomberg’s original report on Anthropic’s talks was not read. Sources describe Decart’s business in two ways (chip-portability software in the WSJ’s subheading; the Lucy and Oasis models in Reuters); both are recorded above.
Why it matters
It is the second report in two days of a large technology company moving to buy an AI startup outright (after Nvidia and Reflection AI). It also shows Anthropic, ahead of its IPO, considering and then dropping a multi-billion-dollar acquisition.
Sources
5 sources from 5 sites. Numbers match the chips in the text.
5 sources: 4 press, 1 reaction
Press
- Wall Street Journal: Amazon in talks to buy AI startup Decart for around $7 billion (paywalled)wsj.com, press
- The Straits Times (Reuters): Amazon in talks to buy AI start-up Decart for around US$7 billionstraitstimes.com, press
- Reuters: Amazon in talks to buy AI startup Decart for around $7 billion, WSJ reportsreuters.com, press
- Finimize: Amazon talks about buying AI startup Decartfinimize.com, press
Reactions
- Techmeme: Amazon in talks to buy Decart (headline and coverage list)techmeme.com, discussion
Changes
- Filed (Techmeme)