Google has finally sealed the deal to acquire cybersecurity start-up Wiz in its biggest purchase yet.
The tech giant announced the $32 billion all-cash acquisition of the Israeli-based cloud security platform on Tuesday morning. Wiz, founded in 2020, will join Google Cloud following the closing of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval. Wiz was valued at $12 billion following a funding round in May of last year.
Long-awaited. Readers feeling a sense of déjà vu should not fret. Rumors of a deal between Google and Wiz have been circulating since last year. However, the proposed deal ultimately fell through after the cybersecurity startup turned down Google’s offer to purchase it for $23 billion. Wiz co-founder and CEO Assaf Rappaport, in a memo obtained by TechCrunch, told employees shortly after walking away from the deal that the company would instead focus on pursuing an initial public offering (IPO).
“Let me cut to the chase: Our next milestones are $1 billion in ARR and an IPO,” Rappaport wrote. “Saying no to such humbling offers is tough, but with our exceptional team, I feel confident in making that choice.”
Power duo. Google has big bets for its latest purchase, which is its largest one to date, surpassing its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility in 2012. The tech company said the addition will allow it to “accelerate two large and growing trends in the AI era: improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds.”
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“Together, Google Cloud and Wiz will turbocharge improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds,” said Google CEO Sundar Pichai in a statement accompanying the announcement.
According to Synergy Research Group, Google Cloud had a global market share of 12% in the fourth quarter of 2024. In comparison, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure had global market shares of 30% and 21%, respectively, during the same period.
In a blog post penned by Rappaport, the cloud security platform said that the acquisition will allow it to “execute and innovate” at a faster pace and expressed its commitment to remaining a multicloud platform.
“We will still work closely with our great partners at AWS, Azure, Oracle, and across the entire industry,” the CEO wrote.
Shopping spree. The acquisition comes at a time when Google is taking great measures to beef up its cybersecurity portfolio. In 2022, the tech behemoth acquired cybersecurity company Mandiant in a $5.4 billion deal to “complement” the security posture of its cloud unit. In the same year, the cloud giant also purchased Siemplify, another Israeli-based startup, for an estimated price of $500 million to bolster the division.