diff --git a/walk/walk.go b/walk/walk.go
index fc3682f..4fd1bbb 100644
--- a/walk/walk.go
+++ b/walk/walk.go
@@ -379,7 +379,8 @@
 		relsToVisitSeen: make(map[string]struct{}),
 	}
 
-	w.populateCache()
+	// Asynchronously populate the walker cache in the background.
+	go w.populateCache()
 
 	return w, nil
 }