PayPal (PYPL.US) has reached an agreement to acquire Cymbio, a platform specializing in enabling merchants to sell products via AI-powered chatbots, although the specific financial terms of the deal were not publicly disclosed. This acquisition marks the latest strategic move by the payments giant to position itself as a comprehensive, one-stop-shop platform for merchants aiming to sell goods through chatbot interfaces, a critical step as consumers increasingly turn to chatbots to discover products they love. The partnership between the two companies began back in 2022 when PayPal Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of PayPal, made an early-stage investment in Cymbio. By October 2025, when PayPal launched its landmark "Intelligent Agent Commerce" service, Cymbio was already a core strategic partner, having established a strong collaborative foundation in technology integration and market expansion. Specifically, PayPal previously introduced a suite of agent-based commerce services designed to help merchants keep pace with rapidly evolving consumer shopping behaviors. This initiative is driven by the widespread industry expectation that AI-powered shopping models will gain increasing favor among consumers. In a statement, PayPal revealed that the acquisition of Israel-based Cymbio is expected to be finalized in the first half of this year. PayPal offers merchants a range of practical tools, including product catalog management and order management platforms, which help make their products more easily discoverable within chatbot environments. The company markets these services as an effective way for merchants to expand their customer base, while simultaneously allowing them to maintain control over their brand's exposure and visibility in transactions initiated by AI agents. Brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Fabletics, and Ashley Furniture are already utilizing PayPal's agent commerce tools on platforms like Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot. Furthermore, support for functionalities on OpenAI's ChatGPT, as well as Google's Gemini app and AI-powered search, is slated to be introduced soon. Michelle Gill, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Small Business and Financial Services at PayPal, stated in the announcement, "By making their product catalogs discoverable to AI interfaces, merchants can effectively boost sales while also expanding their product selection reach to the millions of consumers who now shop on AI platforms."
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