Amazon is in talks to acquire artificial intelligence startup Decart in a deal valued at approximately $7 billion, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Sunday, as the e-commerce and cloud computing giant looks to strengthen its position in a market increasingly shaped by advanced AI models and real-time video generation.
The proposed valuation would represent a substantial increase from Decart’s nearly $4 billion valuation in May, according to PitchBook data cited by the Journal. The discussions remain ongoing, and a deal could be reached soon if negotiations do not collapse or another potential buyer emerges, the report said.
Decart has attracted investor interest through AI technology designed to generate and manipulate video in real time, as well as models that create simulated environments for training and testing robotics and autonomous-driving systems. These capabilities could give the startup relevance across several areas of AI development, from interactive digital experiences to the development of physical AI systems.
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Its Lucy model, backed by Nvidia, can edit live video in real time, according to the company’s website. Decart has also developed Oasis, a model that generates simulated environments intended to help train and test robotics and autonomous-driving technologies.
The combination of video generation and simulated environments places Decart in a segment of AI development that extends beyond text-based chatbots and conventional productivity tools. Such systems can generate visual content dynamically or provide virtual settings in which machines can be tested before deployment in the physical world.
A potential acquisition would offer Amazon a way to bring these capabilities into its broader technology operations. However, the companies have not disclosed how Decart’s technology would be integrated into Amazon’s products or services, and the reported talks have not resulted in a confirmed agreement.
The reported Amazon negotiations follow a period of significant fundraising and acquisition interest for Decart.
In May, the startup raised $300 million in a funding round led by Radical Ventures, with Nvidia joining as a new investor. The financing valued the company at nearly $4 billion, according to PitchBook data cited by the Journal.
The reported $7 billion acquisition valuation would therefore represent a potential premium of about 75% over that earlier valuation, underscoring how quickly the market value of sought-after AI companies can rise as larger technology groups compete for talent, models and specialized capabilities.
The discussions also follow an earlier attempt by Anthropic to explore a possible acquisition. Bloomberg News reported that Anthropic considered a deal worth approximately $6 billion in August but decided not to pursue the transaction after conducting due diligence.
The reported sequence suggests Decart has attracted interest from major AI players, although the reasons behind Anthropic’s decision not to proceed have not been disclosed. But its withdrawal illustrates that acquisition interest does not necessarily translate into a completed transaction, even when a startup operates in a fast-growing technology segment.
Amazon’s reported discussions could now place Decart at the center of another potential multibillion-dollar transaction. The outcome will depend on whether the parties agree on valuation and terms, and whether competing interests complicate negotiations.
The potential deal comes as technology companies broaden their AI ambitions beyond language models, investing in systems capable of generating images and video, interacting with digital environments and supporting applications in robotics.
Decart’s Lucy model focuses on real-time video editing, a capability that could support interactive content generation and other applications where visual output must change as events unfold. Unlike systems designed primarily to generate a finished image or video from a prompt, real-time tools are intended to modify visual content while a stream is running.
Oasis addresses a different challenge: generating simulated environments for training and testing autonomous systems. Robotics and self-driving technologies require extensive testing across a wide range of conditions, including scenarios that may be difficult, expensive, or dangerous to reproduce in the physical world.
Simulated environments can help developers expose systems to varied situations before testing them in real-world settings. Their usefulness, however, depends on how accurately the simulations represent physical conditions and whether performance in virtual environments transfers reliably to real-world operations.
These capabilities could make Decart relevant to companies seeking to expand AI into applications that involve continuous visual processing and physical interaction. Amazon’s interest, if confirmed by a completed deal, would place another specialized AI developer within a major technology group with substantial computing and cloud infrastructure.
The reported negotiations also highlight the valuation pressure surrounding AI startups. Decart’s potential $7 billion price tag would exceed its May valuation despite the relatively short interval between the two figures. Such increases reflect the premium buyers may be willing to consider for specialized technology and development teams, although the ultimate commercial value depends on whether those assets can be turned into widely adopted products.
For now, the reported acquisition remains under negotiation. Neither Amazon nor Decart has confirmed an agreement, and the possibility of talks breaking down or another buyer emerging remains open. Until the parties announce a transaction, the $7 billion figure should be treated as a reported potential valuation rather than a completed deal.