PayPal Acquires Israel's Cymbio—Targeting Agentic Commerce Leadership with "Store Sync"

PayPal Officially Announces Cymbio Acquisition

PayPal to Acquire Cymbio, Accelerating Agentic Commerce Capabilities

PayPal acquires Cymbio, a multi-channel orchestration platform, to accelerate its agentic commerce capabilities including Store Sync.

On January 22, 2026, PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) announced the acquisition of Cymbio, a multi-channel orchestration platform based in Tel Aviv, Israel. While the deal value was not disclosed, Israeli media reports estimate it at hundreds of millions of dollars. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

Cymbio was founded in 2015 by Roy Avidor, Mor Lavi, and Gilad Zirkel, and has raised over $35 million to date. PayPal Ventures invested in the company in 2022, making this acquisition a deepening of an existing partnership.

Industry Background and Trends

"Agentic commerce" is a new form of commerce where AI assistants and chatbots discover, compare, and purchase products on behalf of consumers. As "AI surfaces" like Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Google Gemini proliferate rapidly, we are approaching an era where products are discovered through AI conversations rather than traditional search engines.

Payment giants are intensifying their battle for position in this space. According to a Forrester report, Amazon, Visa, Google, PayPal, and Stripe have all announced agentic commerce strategies. Stripe in particular has co-developed the "Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP)" with OpenAI, powering the infrastructure behind ChatGPT's "Instant Checkout" and Microsoft's "Copilot Checkout."

PayPal, meanwhile, is leveraging its "two-sided network" of 400 million consumers and 35 million merchants to establish itself as a "trust and payment layer" rather than competing at the protocol level. The Cymbio acquisition is central to this strategy.

How Store Sync Works and Cymbio's Role

Post-acquisition, Cymbio's team and technology will be integrated into PayPal's "Store Sync" service. Store Sync makes merchant product data (catalog, inventory, pricing) discoverable through AI channels.

Store Sync's three key differentiators are:

Merchants retain merchant of record status—the most significant differentiator. Even when orders come through AI surfaces, order management, fulfillment, and customer service remain under the merchant's control. Brands don't need to surrender control or their direct customer relationships.

Seamless integration with existing logistics and order management systems is also critical. Cymbio's orchestration technology automatically routes orders from AI channels to merchants' existing fulfillment systems.

Expanding AI platform support is also progressing. Currently, Abercrombie & Fitch, Fabletics, Ashley Furniture, Newegg, and Adorama are using Store Sync on Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity. Support for OpenAI ChatGPT and Google Gemini has also been announced as "coming soon."

Impact and Implications for EC Operators

The biggest message this acquisition sends to EC operators is that "AI surfaces becoming new sales channels" is now a reality backed by concrete services.

Short-term considerations: It's worth evaluating participation in PayPal's Store Sync. For operators already using PayPal as a payment method, the additional integration burden is expected to be relatively small.

Points of caution: Agentic commerce is still in its early stages. According to Nasdaq's analysis, PayPal's branded payment volume growth rate has decelerated from 6% to 5%, and it remains unclear whether agentic commerce can offset existing business growth.

Meanwhile, multiple protocols are emerging in parallel, including Stripe's ACP and Google's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). EC operators should avoid over-reliance on any single platform and pursue flexible multi-channel AI readiness.

Summary

PayPal's Cymbio acquisition symbolizes agentic commerce's transition from "concept stage" to "implementation stage." While Stripe leads at the protocol layer with OpenAI, PayPal is building a unique position using its two-sided network and Store Sync.

Key watch points going forward include the timing of Store Sync's ChatGPT and Gemini support, and the extent to which compatibility with open protocols like ACP and UCP will be maintained. For EC operators, 2026 is the year to seriously develop AI channel strategies.