Anthropic’s talks to buy Israeli startup Decart have moved from rumor to near-reality, with the two sides now trading advanced drafts of a deal that could value the AI infrastructure company at roughly $7 billion. The prospect of an Anthropic acquisition of Decart has quickly become one of the most closely watched stories in Israeli tech, not just for the price tag but for what it signals about where the AI industry is headed next.
Summary
Key takeaways
- Anthropic and Decart are exchanging advanced drafts of an acquisition agreement that could value Decart at around $7 billion, according to Calcalist.
- Decart, founded in 2023 by Dr. Dean Leitersdorf and Moshe Shalev, was valued at about $4 billion in its most recent funding round just months earlier.
- Anthropic reportedly beat out Nvidia, which had offered a higher valuation partly because it was already an investor in Decart.
- The deal, mostly paid in Anthropic shares, would be Anthropic’s largest known purchase and would give it its first development center in Israel.
- Decart’s technology, which speeds up AI inference and generates real-time video, is also being eyed by Google and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
A $7 Billion Bid for a Three-Year-Old Startup
The core of the story is straightforward: Anthropic is reportedly willing to pay around $7 billion for Decart, a company that barely existed three years ago. Decart, known for its advanced real-time world models and generative video technologies, was valued at roughly $4 billion in its last funding round, so the proposed price marks about a 50% jump in a matter of months.
Founded on September 7, 2023, just weeks before the outbreak of the war in Israel, Decart has raised $450 million to date and employs around 100 people. Sequoia Capital, its largest investor, is reportedly among those who believe Anthropic is best positioned to take the startup into its next stage of growth. Founders Dr. Dean Leitersdorf and Moshe Shalev are said to have identified Anthropic as their preferred buyer.
If finalized, this would mark Anthropic’s largest known acquisition to date, according to Calcalist, which first reported that the deal is nearing the signing stage. Most of the consideration is expected to be paid in Anthropic shares rather than cash, tying Decart’s shareholders directly to Anthropic’s future.
Why Anthropic Beat Nvidia to the Table
Anthropic’s Decart acquisition only reached this stage after outmaneuvering a rival bidder with deeper pockets. Nvidia had been in advanced talks with Decart and is believed to have offered a higher valuation, partly because it was already an investor in the startup. Decart initially leaned toward advancing that process before halting it once Anthropic’s offer arrived.
For Decart’s shareholders, the identity of the buyer mattered as much as the price. Anthropic currently has no development center in Israel, and buying Decart would give it an immediate foothold inside the country’s AI ecosystem — something Nvidia, already active there, could not offer in the same way.
The competition did not end with Nvidia stepping back. Google, which last year agreed to acquire Israeli cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion, has reportedly examined the opportunity, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX — which previously considered acquiring Decart — could still return to the process. Even so, sources close to the talks say the odds favor Anthropic closing the deal by early September, though no agreement has been signed yet.
Decart has hired boutique bank Catalyst is expected to provide advisory services for the transaction, with a potential signing timeline of next month or sooner. That timeline lines up closely with Anthropic’s own plans: the company has filed a confidential prospectus for what could become one of the largest tech IPOs ever, with J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs advising on the offering.
What Makes Decart’s Technology So Valuable
Decart’s appeal goes well beyond a flashy valuation. Its core technology is designed to extract more performance from AI chips, and industry estimates suggest it can let AI models run up to eight times faster than average — a meaningful edge as computing costs climb alongside surging demand for products like Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Crucially, Decart’s tools aren’t locked to a single chipmaker. The technology reportedly improves performance across GPUs as well as competing chips built by Google and Amazon, which makes it more broadly useful to a buyer like Anthropic that isn’t tied to one hardware ecosystem.
The company also has a second capability that’s drawing attention: real-time video generation. Originally built for gaming, Decart has increasingly shifted that technology toward physical AI and robotics, where generating high-quality video quickly and cheaply could help train robots to perform real-world tasks.
Strategic Implications for Anthropic and the AI Sector
An Anthropic acquisition of Decart would land at a particularly sensitive moment for both companies. Anthropic’s own numbers help explain why it’s willing to spend big: presentations to investors reportedly showed second-quarter revenue jumping 14-fold to $11.5 billion, up from $787 million a year earlier, with the company posting positive EBITDA for the first time. Its annualized revenue is estimated at around $47 billion, ahead of OpenAI’s roughly $40 billion — underscoring how fiercely the two are competing for AI leadership.
This matters because the deal would strengthen Anthropic’s position in a rapidly evolving and highly competitive AI sector at exactly the moment the industry is shifting focus from training massive models to running them efficiently — a transition where Decart’s chip-optimization technology could pay off directly. The scale of that shift was underscored this same week by a reported $500 billion financing agreement involving Nvidia and Wall Street investors including Blackstone and Apollo.
There’s also a timing dimension worth watching closely. Acquiring Decart while preparing a public offering — expected in September or October, with market chatter around a potential $2 trillion valuation following private transactions that recently priced Anthropic near $1 trillion — would show Anthropic is willing to make a major strategic bet right before going public, while also blocking a rival from picking up technology that could improve AI inference economics.
For Decart’s founders, the deal is a mixed outcome. Leitersdorf, who completed his computer science doctorate at 23, has spoken of wanting Decart to become “the Google or Apple of AI.” After three years, though, the company still lacks a single clearly defined mass-market product or a proven recurring revenue engine, which may explain why joining a larger, cash-rich partner looks more appealing than an uncertain path as an independent giant.
For Israel’s tech industry, the significance could outlast the transaction itself. The country has plenty of AI talent and startups but has lacked a global model company to anchor the sector — a gap that echoes what Intel’s acquisition of Mobileye did for autonomous driving and what Nvidia’s purchase of Mellanox did for networking. An Anthropic development center built around Decart could fill that role and potentially push other major players, including Amazon, to deepen their presence in the country. Market observers are now watching for official confirmation from Anthropic and any follow-up strategic announcements before drawing firmer conclusions about how the deal reshapes the AI landscape by the end of 2026.
FAQ
What is the reported price Anthropic is willing to pay for Decart?
Anthropic is reportedly willing to pay around $7 billion for Decart, according to Calcalist, which described the deal as nearing the signing stage.
What technologies does Decart specialize in?
Decart specializes in advanced real-time world models and generative video technologies, along with software that helps AI models run faster on existing chips.
How would the acquisition affect Anthropic’s market position?
The acquisition would strengthen Anthropic’s position in the competitive and rapidly evolving AI sector, giving it its first development center in Israel and access to chip-efficiency technology just as the industry shifts toward AI inference.
Has Anthropic formally confirmed the acquisition?
No formal confirmation has been issued. Market observers are awaiting official word from Anthropic and any subsequent strategic announcements, with sources close to the talks noting that no agreement has been signed yet.
Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.
