Sign up: register@panafrican.email

Google Near $23 Billion Deal for Cybersecurity Startup Wiz

Google Translate’s live text translation uses your phone camera to instantly interpret your surroundings in up to 134 languages. We dig into the technology, and why it can still botch translations. Photo illustration: Michael Tabb

Google parent Alphabet GOOGL 0.79%increase; green up pointing triangle is in advanced talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for roughly $23 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be its largest acquisition ever.

A deal could come together soon, assuming the talks don’t fall apart, the people said.

Alphabet is eyeing the deal at a time of intense antitrust scrutiny of the search company and other tech giants. The acquisition could also help boost Alphabet’s efforts in cloud computing, an important and growing business but one where it has lagged behind peers.

Wiz’s valuation has soared since it was founded in 2020 by Chief Executive Assaf Rappaport and several colleagues. The company, which offers cybersecurity software for cloud computing, raised $1 billion earlier this year at a valuation of $12 billion. It is one of only a few startups outside the artificial-intelligence industry to raise money at a higher valuation in 2024. 

Most startups are still suffering the hangover effects of the tech boom that peaked earlier this decade, during which a low interest-rate environment fueled ballooning valuations that far surpassed business growth.

Wiz’s valuation has soared since it was founded in 2020 by Chief Executive Assaf Rappaport and several colleagues. PHOTO: HARRY MURPHY/SPORTSFILE FOR WEB SUMMIT/GETTY IMAGES

Wiz said it hit $100 million in annual recurring revenue after 18 months, and achieved $350 million in annual recurring revenue in 2023. The company is backed by prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalists including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. 

If completed, the Google deal would mark a rare exit for these investors at a time when the initial public offering market has stalled and the antitrust environment has made startups reluctant to pursue M&A. 

Wiz’s founders started the company after selling their first startup, Adallom, to Microsoft in 2015 for $320 million. They worked at the tech giant for several years before leaving to launch Wiz.

Wiz is based in New York with additional offices in the U.S. and Israel. The startup partners with a number of the biggest cloud companies, including Amazon and Microsoft as well as Google, according to its website.

Despite its more than $2 trillion market value, Google has been a more conservative acquirer than some of its big-tech peers in recent years. It has shied away from big splashes like Microsoft’s $26 billion purchase of LinkedIn or $75 billion deal for ActivisionBlizzard.


Google has been working to bulk up its cybersecurity business, focused on the cloud. Its biggest recent acquisition—and second largest ever—is the nearly $5.4 billion purchase two years ago of another security company, Mandiant.

Google is currently awaiting a verdict in a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit over claims that it used illegal means to bolster its dominance in internet search. The agency last year filed a second antitrust suit, which has yet to go to trial, that alleges unfair practices in Google’s ad-tech business.

Google isn’t nearly as strong in the cloud-computing market as it is in search and online advertising, however. The company is a distant third after Amazon and Microsoft, but it is investing heavily in the business, which is growing quickly. Last year, revenue in Google’s cloud business grew 26% and the unit reported an operating profit for the first time.

Should a deal for Wiz come together, it would be one of the largest technology deals of late as antitrust scrutiny and high interest rates keep would-be buyers on the sidelines. Where there have been deals, cybersecurity has been an area of focus. Cisco closed a $28 billion takeover of cybersecurity and analytics company Splunk earlier this year.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *