Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has announced its largest-ever acquisition by purchasing New York-based cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion. This acquisition will integrate Wiz into Google Cloud, marking Alphabet’s second attempt to acquire Wiz after previous negotiations stalled last year at a lower valuation of $23 billion.
Wiz, an Israeli-founded startup, specializes in cloud-based cybersecurity solutions and collaborates with major companies such as Microsoft and Amazon. In May 2024, Wiz was valued at $12 billion, which increased to $16 billion later in the year during an equity offering to employees. The company had been preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) since the previous acquisition attempt failed.
Assaf Rappaport, Wiz cofounder and CEO, expressed optimism about the acquisition, stating that joining Google Cloud would accelerate innovation. To address antitrust concerns, Google confirmed that Wiz’s products will remain available on competitor cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud. Additionally, the Google Cloud Marketplace will continue offering other security services beyond those provided by Wiz.
This acquisition comes amid scrutiny from regulators, as Google is currently involved in two separate antitrust lawsuits with the Justice Department concerning its search engine and digital advertising businesses. Despite this, the deal reflects Google’s ongoing efforts to enhance its cloud computing security, following previous acquisitions of Siemplify and Mandiant in 2022.
— news from The Verge