Amazon is in talks to acquire the artificial-intelligence startup Decart for roughly $7 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. The figure, if a deal closes at that level, would rank among the largest acquisitions of a private AI company to date and would extend Amazon's sustained spending push into generative AI beyond its own silicon and cloud infrastructure programs.

The report describes the transaction as a work in progress. Talks are ongoing, according to the WSJ, and there is no certainty that the two sides will reach agreement on price or structure. Neither Amazon nor Decart has publicly confirmed the negotiations.

What does a $7 billion price signal?

A price near $7 billion for a startup would underscore how sharply acquisition multiples for AI developers have inflated over the past two years. Buyers have shifted from licensing models and hiring teams to outright corporate acquisitions, paying premiums for engineering talent, model architectures and customer traction rather than proven revenue at scale.

For Amazon, the reported deal size fits a pattern of aggressive capital deployment. The company has already committed tens of billions of dollars to AI-related capacity, including its Trainium and Inferentia accelerator families and its Build-on-Anthropic partnership, which involved a multibillion-dollar investment rather than a full buyout. An outright Decart acquisition would mark a different instrument: full ownership of the technology stack.

The WSJ did not report Decart's revenue, headcount or funding history in the item carried by Yahoo Finance UK, so the multiple implied by the $7 billion figure cannot be independently assessed from this report alone.

Why is Amazon buying rather than building?

Large cloud operators face a build-versus-buy calculus in generative AI. Internal model development is slow and talent-constrained, while acquisition delivers immediate capabilities but carries integration and regulatory risk. Amazon's reported interest in Decart suggests the company sees more value in absorbing an external team than in replicating its output in-house.

Acquisition also consolidates intellectual property. In a market where model architectures and inference efficiency techniques are competitive differentiators, ownership removes the risk that a rival acquires the same asset first.

What stands between talks and a deal?

Any transaction of this size would face antitrust review in the United States and likely in other jurisdictions. Regulators have intensified scrutiny of big-tech purchases of AI startups, examining whether such deals neutralize potential competitors before they mature. The structure of a final agreement — full acquisition, partial stake or acqui-hire — would materially affect how regulators assess it.

There is also the question of price discipline. Negotiating leverage can shift during due diligence, and reported figures at the talks stage frequently move before signing.

What comes next?

If the negotiations advance, expect confirmation or denial within weeks, as both parties weigh regulatory exposure against competitive pressure. Should Amazon complete a purchase near $7 billion, it would set a fresh reference price for private AI targets and likely accelerate rival acquirers' timelines in a market where the available pool of differentiated AI startups keeps shrinking.

This article is based on a report by the Wall Street Journal, as carried by Yahoo Finance UK. The talks are unconfirmed and terms may change.