(Reuters) – Symbotic (SYM) said on Thursday it might buy Walmart’s (WMT) robotics business for $200 million in money to assist expand the retailer’s automated supply chain, sending shares of the warehouse robotics firm up 20% in premarket trading.

The automation firm reached one other agreement with Walmart to develop the retail giant’s pickup and delivery centers using its artificial intelligence-enabled robotics platform.

Because of this, Walmart would fund the event program and pay Symbotic $520 million, including $230 million at closing, for the brand new agreement that features an initial order to cover a whole lot of stores.

The robotics vendor, which has been helping Walmart automate its supply chain since 2017, said the acquisition was expected to shut within the second quarter of fiscal 2025.

Retailers have been including AI-powered chatbots into their customer services, together with targeted promotions and loyalty programs, to entice shoppers who’ve increasingly turned to AI for higher product recommendations.

(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)