Qualcomm Inc. on Thursday offered to buy automotive technology company Veoneer Inc. for $4.6 billion, topping a bid Magna International Inc. made in July by an 18.4% premium.

Qualcomm offered $37 a share compared to Magna’s $31.25 bid that had unanimously been approved by their boards in July. Magna’s bid amounted to about $3.8 billion in cash.

Magna, a Canadian manufacturing company for automakers, offered to buy its competitor Veoneer in hopes of boosting its driver assistance technology for autonomous vehicles.

According to Reuters, Qualcomm’s move to top Magna’s bid came as the company saw growing potential in Veoneer.

Hands-free driving and crash-avoidance technology is gaining steam in the automaker industry.

Qualcomm wants to compete in the automaker industry by working with Veoneer as a way for the company to grow its automotive chips business and create open and competitive platforms for automakers.

Chief Executive Officer Cristiano Amon wrote in a letter that his company’s interest was “driven by” Arriver, Veoneer’s software unit working on helping cars perceive and make driving decisions.

Magna and Veoneer have yet to respond to requests for comment.

Qualcomm shares on Thursday fell as much as 2.5% while Magna’s stock rose as much as 1.6%. Veoneer shares surged up to 29% to $40.46, the highest intraday since October 2018, Bloomberg noted.

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