Anthropic PBC is in negotiations to acquire artificial intelligence startup Decart AI for approximately $6 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Decart, which raised $300 million in May at a valuation of nearly $4 billion, develops AI infrastructure optimization technologies that help chips operate more efficiently, potentially reducing AI training costs. The startup's "world models" can simulate the physical world and enable real-time video editing. If finalized, this would mark Anthropic's largest acquisition ahead of its anticipated initial public offering. Decart's team would join Anthropic's inference and performance organization. Discussions remain in early stages and the deal may not materialize.
The move aligns with Anthropic's broader strategy of aggressive expansion. As of May 2026, more than 80% of the code merged into Anthropic's codebase was already authored by Claude—up from low single digits in early 2025, as detailed in a Mindplex analysis of Anthropic's recursive self-improvement. The company recently released Claude Opus 5, a cost-efficient workhorse delivering near-frontier performance at half the price of its top-tier sibling. Acquiring Decart would give Anthropic deeper control over the infrastructure layer powering this rapid evolution.