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Anthropic Drops $6B Decart Deal After Due Diligence

9/9/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Anthropic abandoned its $6 billion acquisition of Israeli AI startup Decart after due diligence.
Decart’s founders Dean Leitersdorf, Orian Leitersdorf, and Moshe Shalev owned 64% of the company.
Anthropic demanded Decart’s team relocate to California, which the founders rejected.
The failed deal lowers Israel’s prospects of becoming a major AI R&D hub.
Anthropic is preparing an IPO that aims for a $2 trillion valuation before the U.S. midterms.

History

Historical Context

Intel’s 2017 purchase of Israeli autonomous-driving firm Mobileye for $15.3 billion marked a landmark U.S.–Israel tech deal, following Mobileye’s 2014 IPO that made it Israel’s biggest U.S. listing. The transaction underscored a decade-long trend of large American chipmakers acquiring Israeli AI and vision startups, shaping Israel’s role in the global AI ecosystem.

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Story summary

Anthropic abandoned its $6 billion acquisition of Israeli AI startup Decart after due diligence.
Decart’s founders Dean Leitersdorf, Orian Leitersdorf, and Moshe Shalev owned 64% of the company.
Anthropic demanded Decart’s team relocate to California, which the founders rejected.
The failed deal lowers Israel’s prospects of becoming a major AI R&D hub.
Anthropic is preparing an IPO that aims for a $2 trillion valuation before the U.S. midterms.

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