Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has announced its largest-ever acquisition, entering into a deal to buy New York-based cybersecurity firm Wiz, making it a part of its Google Cloud division. This is the company’s second attempt to buy Wiz after talks stalled last year at a lower $23 billion evaluation. The Verge reported.
Wiz is a fast-growing Israeli-founded startup that works with companies like Microsoft and Amazon to provide cloud-based cybersecurity solutions. The company was valued at $12 billion in May 2024, which reportedly climbed to $16 billion later in the year in an equity offering to employees, and has been working towards an initial public offering (IPO) in the months since the previous acquisition fell through.
Should the deal receive regulatory approval, it will easily outsize the $12.5 billion paid by Google for Motorola Mobility in 2012.
“We expect this change to enable us to execute and innovate even faster,” said Wiz cofounder and CEO Assaf Rappaport in a blog post. “Becoming part of Google Cloud is effectively strapping a rocket to our backs: it will accelerate our rate of innovation after than what we could achieve as a standalone company.”
TechCrunch reported: Tuesday’s big news that Google is acquiring security startup Wiz for a record-breaking $32 billion comes with a big qualifier. Google says it will position Wiz as a “multicloud” offering, meaning Wiz will not be a Google-only shop.
The reality is that Google had no choice but to do this, and a close look at the reasons behind the decision also highlights Google’s weak spots in the months ahead.
Wiz brings a massive customer list to Google. As of today, the startup has already reached an annual revenue rate of $700 million. Before the news broke on Tuesday, it was on track for that to grow to $1 billion.
“Before the news broke” is the operative phrase here. Google and Wiz surely hope the acquisition will create an interesting new funnel of customers and revenue, but first and foremost, both will need to ensure they keep the existing customers from shopping around for another security provider.
CNBC reported: Google on Tuesday signed an “definitive agreement” to acquire Wiz, a New York-based cloud security startup, for $32 billion in an all cash deal.
The deal, Google’s largest ever, will bolster the company’s security technology in a world of advancing artificial intelligence and cybersecurity threats. Wiz will become a part of the company’s cloud business, and Google said it expects the deal to close in 2026.
“Google Cloud is a leader in cloud infrastructure, with deep AI expertise and a track record of industry-leading security innovation,” Google said in a release. “Bringing all this to Wiz will help make their solutions even better and more scalable, benefiting customers and partners across all major clouds.”