Anthropic has terminated negotiations to acquire the Israeli AI startup Decart. The deal, which would have been the company's largest acquisition, was valued at approximately $6 billion. The withdrawal was reported on September 8, 2026.
Decart, founded in September 2023, specializes in chip-optimization software to increase the efficiency of AI inference. The company focuses on generative video, autonomous systems, and robotics simulation. These areas are compute-intensive, where processing cost reductions lead to significant savings.
Decart has raised approximately $450 million in total funding. In May 2026, the company closed a $300 million round that valued the startup at around $4 billion, with Nvidia as a prominent backer. The three founders of Decart still retain approximately 64% ownership of the company.
The acquisition talks reached an advanced stage by mid-August 2026. Anthropic's offer was primarily stock-based, valuing Decart at $6 billion, which was a 50% premium over its last private valuation. Decart's founders had reportedly passed on a more financially attractive offer from Nvidia to pursue the deal with Anthropic.
Anthropic is reportedly preparing for an IPO potentially as early as September or October 2026. The company walked away from the deal for undisclosed reasons, although the upcoming public listing is considered a significant factor. A stock-based acquisition of this size would have created financial complexity and potential shareholder dilution.
