Anthropic is reportedly negotiating to acquire Decart for $6 billion, marking its largest deal to date.

      Anthropic is reportedly in discussions to acquire Decart, an Israeli AI startup, for approximately $6 billion, as per reports from Reuters. If finalized, this would represent the largest deal in Anthropic’s history. The negotiations are not concluded, and both companies have refrained from commenting, so the deal could still fall through.

      What makes this situation particularly noteworthy is not the price, but the target itself. Decart does not create competing chatbots; rather, it develops software that optimizes the performance of existing chips, thereby reducing the costs associated with training and operating AI models. In a time when cost management is crucial, especially as inexpensive Chinese models continue to challenge Western labs and investors become increasingly cautious about spiraling compute expenses, spending $6 billion on such a venture is significant.

      Decart was established in 2023 by three Israeli engineers: Dean Leitersdorf, Orian Leitersdorf, and Moshe Shalev. In addition to its work on efficiency, Decart is also involved in generative video and world models, which it showcased in the Oasis demo in October 2024. However, it is the less glamorous aspect of chip efficiency that aligns better with Anthropic’s current interests, rather than the more attention-grabbing video features.

      The price tag indicates a swift re-evaluation; Decart was valued at $3.1 billion a year ago in August 2025, and its valuation rose to nearly $4 billion this May following a $300 million investment round led by Radical Ventures. A $6 billion acquisition would represent a premium of about 50% over the most recent valuation, reflecting significant growth for a company that is just two years old.

      In contrast, Anthropic is operating on a vastly different scale, with its valuation having soared to approximately $965 billion after its latest major funding round. Additionally, in early June, it confidentially filed an S-1 with the SEC, indicating preparations for a public offering.

      This potential acquisition would mark Anthropic's fifth acquisition this year, following at least four smaller deals, making it by far the largest, and the timing is likely not coincidental given the upcoming listing.

      The rationale is clear: Anthropic is engaged in the same competitive compute race as its peers, and the costs associated with that competition are what potential public-market investors will scrutinize most closely. Acquiring a company dedicated to maximizing chip efficiency is a strategy to strengthen its infrastructure and manage costs before going public.

      This moment reflects a somewhat rare perspective, akin to a European approach, where an AI leader spends substantially in order to reduce future expenditures, signaling that the market now values frugality over mere size.

      Anthropic’s commitment to efficiency is also evident in its recent agreement with CoreWeave for a multi-year GPU contract to run Claude at production scale, part of a broader effort to secure capacity under favorable terms. An acquisition focused on efficiency would complement its existing strategy of extracting more value from its hardware investments.

      Notably, Anthropic was not the only potential buyer interested in Decart; Nvidia, SpaceX, and Amazon have also shown interest, underscoring that the market now recognizes efficiency as a strategic advantage, rather than just a desirable feature.

      It is an ironic twist that after years of emphasizing the need for larger models and data centers, the leading labs are now shifting their focus. With an IPO on the horizon and a market that rewards cost-efficiency, one of the strongest advocates for scaling is prepared to pay a historic amount in pursuit of becoming smaller, more affordable, and more efficient.