Amazon in Talks to Buy AI Startup Decart for About $7 Billion
Amazon is reportedly in talks to acquire AI startup Decart for up to $7 billion. Decart's DOS software optimizes AI models for specific chips, potentially aiding AWS and its Trainium push.
SiliconANGLE reported that Decart has developed software called DOS, which is designed to speed up AI training and inference workloads by optimizing neural networks to run on a specific processor. In most AI workloads, developers must optimize a neural network for the chip they plan to use. That process used to take months, but with DOS, the necessary workflow can be compressed into just a couple of weeks, according to SiliconANGLE.
Because of that, companies can use Decart's software to shift AI workloads to different processors if their requirements change or if chip availability becomes an issue. The technology could be particularly relevant to AWS, which has been developing and promoting Trainium as an alternative to processors from other suppliers.
Decart is also a model developer. The company created the Lucy and Oasis world models, which are designed to generate and simulate realistic three-dimensional environments for video games, robotic training and other use cases.
The deal is not assured. The report said it is still possible another suitor could emerge and outbid Amazon. Last month, Anthropic PBC was reportedly in talks to buy Decart, according to Bloomberg. Anthropic ultimately withdrew from a reported $6 billion deal after conducting due diligence on the startup. It is not clear what dissuaded Anthropic from pursuing the acquisition.