Anthropic Abandons Proposed $6 Billion Decart Acquisition After Due Diligence

Anthropic has decided against acquiring Israeli artificial intelligence startup Decart AI in a deal valued at about $6 billion, people familiar with the matter said. The decision follows due diligence by the Claude developer and ends a proposed transaction that had positioned Decart as a major addition to Anthropic’s model infrastructure strategy.

The companies could still pursue other forms of cooperation, according to Bloomberg AI and Ynetnews. Neither Anthropic nor Decart publicly confirmed the decision in the material available for this article, leaving the status of any continuing commercial relationship unclear. Bloomberg’s reporting, carried by several outlets, forms the basis for the announcement, while local Israeli coverage provides background on Decart’s technology and founders.

Decart drew interest because its technology was designed to make artificial intelligence systems run faster and use computing resources more efficiently. That capability addressed a central pressure for Anthropic, whose Claude products require substantial computing capacity as usage expands.

The proposed purchase would also have given Anthropic a larger Israeli research and engineering presence. Calcalist Tech described Decart as a possible foundation for Anthropic’s development center in Israel, while Ynetnews highlighted the company’s technical staff and brothers Dean and Orian Leitersdorf, its co-founders. Decart was founded only about 3 years ago, making the reported valuation especially striking.

The reported $6 billion price represented a steep increase over Decart’s most recent financing. Decart raised $300 million in May 2026 at a valuation near $4 billion, according to AI Weekly, putting the proposed transaction at roughly a 50% premium to that round.

Earlier Israeli coverage described the prospective deal as worth as much as $7 billion, reflecting differences in estimates and deal terms before Anthropic withdrew. The range underscores how quickly valuations for infrastructure startups have risen as AI companies compete for scarce engineering talent and methods for lowering model-serving costs. The acquisition would have been one of Anthropic’s most consequential corporate moves, but the final decision leaves Decart independent for now.

Anthropic’s withdrawal comes as the company increases spending on computing and prepares for a possible public listing. AI Weekly said the company’s IPO marketing timetable had slipped into mid-October, while Tradingkey linked the abandoned transaction to a listing process expected around late September or early October.

A large acquisition before an IPO would have introduced additional questions about accounting, valuation, integration and regulatory review. Tradingkey framed the decision as a way to reduce those complications, although the outlet’s account also emphasized the cost of giving up Decart’s computing optimization technology. Anthropic now has to show public-market investors that it can improve operating efficiency through internal development, partnerships or another acquisition.

Walking away preserves Anthropic’s capital and avoids integrating a fast-growing startup, but it also removes a direct path to Decart’s technology and talent. The decision matters because infrastructure efficiency affects the cost, speed and capacity of deploying Claude at scale.

Anthropic can still work with Decart without owning it, and Bloomberg AI and Ynetnews said other cooperation remains possible. That structure would let Anthropic access some capabilities while limiting the financial and organizational burden of a purchase. Decart, meanwhile, retains the option to raise more money, pursue other strategic buyers or build commercial relationships across the AI industry.

The immediate outcome is a pause in consolidation around AI efficiency technology, rather than the completion of a landmark acquisition. Anthropic must decide how much of Decart’s engineering approach it can reproduce internally and whether a partnership can deliver enough value without exclusive ownership.

Decart’s valuation will face a fresh test after the proposed premium disappeared, while Anthropic’s IPO preparations will put its computing costs and path to profitability under sharper scrutiny. The companies’ next public statements, any partnership announcement and Anthropic’s eventual listing plans will clarify whether the failed purchase was a strategic reset or the end of negotiations.