Google's $32 Billion Acquisition of Wiz: A Game-Changer in Cloud Security and AI

Why Google made a $32 billion bet on Wiz

Emma Roth is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. Google's latest acquisition is its most expensive yet -- and perhaps its riskiest, too. On Tuesday, the search giant announced that it acquired the cloud security startup Wiz for $32 billion. It's a major bet that Wiz can help beef up Google's cloud business, which makes far less money than the offerings built by its biggest rivals. But to do that, Google faces real challenges integrating this expensive acquisition and dodging regulatory concerns around what's certain to be a high-profile purchase. Both Microsoft and Amazon have profited handsomely from the AI cloud gold rush, with their cloud services reporting revenues reaching $105.4 billion and $107.6 billion, respectively, during fiscal year 2024. Google, on the other hand, is a minor player in comparison; its cloud revenue surpassed just $43 billion in 2024. With the AI boom showing no signs of stopping, Google may have found a way to shrink the gap with its fellow tech titans, even if it has to spend billions of dollars to get there. "Security is a fundamental priority for CEOs and government leaders around the world, but the landscape is changing," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said during an investors call. "The pace and impact of breaches are accelerating. AI brings new risks, but also new opportunities... Together, we believe this and Google Cloud can accelerate the ability of organizations to improve their security." The deal will bring Wiz under the Google Cloud umbrella. Though Google was in talks to purchase Wiz last year for $23 billion, Wiz backed out due to concerns about pushback from federal regulators and plans to file for an initial public offering. With the more merger-friendly Trump administration in control, the companies may be able to forge a path beyond regulatory hurdles. Founded in 2020, Wiz has rapidly become one of the fastest-growing software companies in the world. Its leadership team has a history of success in cloud startups: Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport and several members of his executive team were also behind Adallom -- the cloud security startup that Microsoft bought for $320 million in 2015 and later rebranded as Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps. Coupled with what Forbes calls a "hyper-aggressive" approach to business and maintenance-free cloud security software, Wiz is making a killing in the ever-growing AI industry. It offers a solution called agentless security, which means companies don't have to spend hours deploying individual security programs -- or agents -- on every device they want to secure. It connects to a cloud environment remotely, allowing experts to oversee their setup using a digital twin, or a copy of a cloud setup that they can use to simulate the impact of potential threats. Other companies, like Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike, offer similar security tools. But Wiz's execution is different. "Anybody can do agentless," Neil MacDonald, a VP and distinguished analyst at Gartner, told The Verge last year. "It's how you stitch together and build this digital twin model and identify, prioritize and help customers, remediate risk... That is what they're [Wiz] really, really good at." Wiz also offers a user-friendly UI that MacDonald says is one of "the best" in its category. One tool presents a web chart that shows all the connections in a cloud environment and how a breach could impact it, while another continuously scans a cloud setup to find and identify risks. These kinds of features will only become more important as major companies -- and their users -- entrust their data to the cloud, whether it's for storage or to process requests with AI. As a deluge of AI startups continue shopping around for a cloud provider, they might take Google Cloud's integration with Wiz into account. The company bills itself as serving "customers of every size of business -- from startups to Fortune 100s." Wiz's marketing has paid off, with Rappaport scaling the startup from $1 million in annual revenue to $100 million in just 18 months in 2022. Wiz has since hit $350 million in annual revenue, and nearly half of all of the companies in the top 100 of Fortune's 500 list use the software. In May 2024, the startup raised $1 billion, putting the company's valuation at around $12 billion. For Google, that far-reaching audience is a huge advantage. The search giant might use this acquisition as an opportunity to convert some of Wiz's customers to Google Cloud, according to a 2024 report from The Information. Currently, OpenAI uses Microsoft Azure to run its AI services, while Anthropic -- the AI company behind Claude -- runs on both AWS and Google Cloud. Another AI company, Midjourney, selected Google Cloud as its provider. And with Microsoft's cybersecurity practices facing increased scrutiny, it's good timing for Google to get in on the cloud security game. Customers don't even have to choose Google Cloud as their provider for Google to benefit. Since Wiz integrates directly with the services offered by Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle, and others, Google can establish itself as a security provider beyond its cloud offering. Aside from Wiz, Google's growing security portfolio includes Mandiant, VirusTotal, and Chronicle (now known as Google Security Operations). "Google wants to become a serious enterprise security vendor," MacDonald said. "Wiz helps to strengthen its credibility as an enterprise security player." "For Google this would be a shot across the bow at Microsoft and Amazon, making a major bet on the cyber security space," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in an investors note when the deal was first rumored last year. "This would give Google an edge on a number of cloud deployments and further monetize the cyber security cloud space with still less than 50% of the workloads not on the cloud globally." But the deal doesn't come without its risks. Google's parent company, Alphabet, agreed to a reverse termination fee of $3.2 billion, according to a report from the Financial Times, which calls the amount "among the highest of all time." It dwarfs the $1 billion Adobe paid to Figma after it abandoned its $20 billion acquisition and the $94 million Amazon paid to iRobot. Even with President Donald Trump in office, Google is still expected to draw scrutiny from federal regulators. Andrew Ferguson, Trump's pick for the chair of the Federal Trade Commission, said in a February memo that he would retain the merger guidelines devised under the Lina Khan-led FTC in 2023. Still, Ferguson has indicated being "more open to using settlements to resolve concerns about proposed mergers, rather than suing to block potentially problematic deals in every instance," as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Google is also in the midst of an active antitrust case that could force the company to sell Chrome, a recommendation federal Judge Amit Mehta reaffirmed earlier this month. A separate antitrust trial, which accuses Google of monopolizing the advertising technology market, concluded late last year. With its acquisition of Wiz, Google will inherit the patent infringement lawsuit the startup is facing from the cloud cybersecurity company Orca. In the suit, Orca accuses Wiz of "ongoing, and unauthorized use of Orca's patented technologies." Aside from potential legal issues, Google has struggled to integrate large acquisitions in the past, such as the $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility in 2012, which was largely viewed as a failure. Later on, Google's $3.2 billion Nest acquisition led to chaotic restructuring and the departure of the smart home brand's founder and former CEO. Google's $32 billion bet is that the opportunity here is far bigger than any of these concerns -- Wiz could put Google's services on the map at a turning point for cloud computing and AI.

Speed is King: How Google's $32B Wiz play rewrites DevOps security rules

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More The real story: Speed and Security at DevOps scale The real story behind Google acquiring Wiz is how badly the need for speed dominates every enterprise's DevOps cycles building apps, models and platforms without sacrificing security. By acquiring Wiz, Google gets an AI-infused Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) designed to eliminate DevSecOps bottlenecks, prevent attacks by and on models in development, prevent cloud breaches and scale multi-cloud security in real time. The Wiz CNAPP platform has earned a global reputation by using AI to enhance its threat detection, predictive analytics, automated remediation, and reduction of false positives. Wiz will integrate Google's risk detection, threat intelligence and automated remediation, which all are table stakes for protecting every stage of cloud-based app and model development. That's a solid contribution to Wiz's graph-based security engine designed to find and contain attack paths instantly, prioritize actual risks and help security teams identify and fix vulnerabilities before they're exploited. Google paying $32 billion in cash signals just how urgent the need for speed is across DevOps cycles that have been asking for an AI-driven CNAPP platform that can flex and scale to keep up with more complex DevOps cycles. "While Google Cloud Platform (GCP) has been investing in built-in CNAPP capabilities for their own platform's native security with success, these tools have predominantly focused only on protecting GCP endpoints/assets," says Andras Cser, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester. Cser added, "after Microsoft's 2021 early acquisition of CloudKnox and development of Defender for Cloud, Google is feeling the pressure to offer a true, multicloud-capable CNAPP tool given that so many organizations are multi-cloud today. Forrester expects that, post-acquisition, most current CNAPP capabilities in GCP (CSPM, CIEM, agentless CWP) will be replaced by Wiz's offering and remain with multi-cloud support." Google just made CNAPP the Formula 1 of Cloud Security In professional racing, as in DevOps, teams obsess over squeezing the last ounce of speed gains out of their engines or code. Knowing that just a few milliseconds gained by reducing the drag on a Formula 1 car or making slight engine improvements mean the difference between a winning season or not. CNAPP is one of the engines DevOps and DevSecOps teams rely on to reduce risks, block intrusions and breaches, and provide a 360 view of CI/CD pipelines to make sure they are secure. Having a CNAPP that's AI-driven delivers more accurate remediation and guidance, contextual threat intelligence and blocks intrusion attempts on CI/CD pipelines protecting code. "While Wiz is most focused on CNAPP, the firm's product offerings bleed into the traditional application security space, with container and Kubernetes security pieces. Recently Wiz expanded into security in the software development phases with software composition analysis (SCA), IAC scanning, and secrets scanning, as well as diving into the software supply chain use case with software bill of materials (SBOM) and CI/CD security posture. These are moves that put Wiz in a position to compete with application security testing vendors and other CNAPP vendors who have 'shifted left," explained Forrester Senior Analyst Janet Worthington. DevOps teams are under constant, growing pressure to deliver. With bonuses often riding on if a delivery date for code is met, security is tacked on to the end of a CI/CD cycle or product schedule. VentureBeat learned that the typical Fortune 1,000 IT department has over 175 active, concurrent DevOps projects running at once, with many having no consistent cloud application security. In other words, those 175 projects are running in a variety of unprotected cloud environments without a common CNAPP platform to protect them. That's jeopardizing the entire DevOps pipeline which is a move made to reduce time-to-market that leaves dozens of projects at risk. Why Google doubled down on Wiz Google's ambitions to grow Google Cloud Platform (GCP) needed a cybersecurity platform that could go end-to-end, protect DevOps and strengthen DevSecOps while leveraging AI to deliver real-time threat detection, automated remediation and full-stack cloud security. The real goal of this acquisition is to have a unified CNAPP solution capable of securing everything from code to cloud to runtime, ensuring that security no longer slows down development but accelerates it. Wiz's AI-driven risk analysis, attack path visualization and multi-cloud security give GCP a competitive edge, making it a viable competitor in an increasingly crowded market driven by enterprises needing speed, scale and resilience in cloud security. "Google has invested heavily in application security tooling that protects apps deployed not only in GCP but in other clouds (and on-premises). Google's investment in its Cloud Armor platform has added web application firewall functionality that is competitive not just with Microsoft and AWS but with other WAF providers. reCaptcha Enterprise has expanded from a Captcha provider into a fuller bot management platform that addresses a range of business logic attacks," says Forrester Principal Analyst Sandy Carielli. "In recent months, Google has begun extending its API management product, Apigee, into broader API security use cases. While there are still gaps to fill, adding Wiz to the combined Cloud Armor, reCaptcha, and Apigee offerings moves Google closer to a holistic defense story for cloud applications," Carielli continued. Google needed a unified AI-driven CNAPP to turbocharge its cybersecurity business. One that brings together security posture management, workload protection, advanced threat detection into a high performance security engine. Challenged by having a siloed approach to security in the past, Google is looking to now have a adaptive, flexible platform that can provide security at the speed of cloud app development. Prior to this deal, GCP's security toolkit was strong, yet siloed as evidenced by its Chronicle SIEM, Mandiant threat intel and a wide variety of partner solutions that created roadblocks across customers' CI/CD pipeline. Acquiring Wiz closes a major gap in their cybersecurity strategy by providing an integrated AI-driven platform that scans cloud environments in minutes and identify risks in real time. CNAPP has a fast track with AI savvy competitors The global CNAPP market was valued at approximately $9.79 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $38.01 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 21.8% during the forecast period. Gartner notes that end-user calls on CNAPPs rose 29% from 2023 to 2024, with an emphasis on Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) driven by compliance and easy API deployment, with expectations of runtime visibility and control. "Wiz's key detection and response offering Wiz Defend takes a different approach to cloud detection and response. Instead of relying on built-in detection capabilities in its own cloud protection tools, it offers a unified tool solely for detection and response that takes in alerts and data from other tools and does detection engineering on them," says Forrester Principal Analyst Allie Mellen. "This reduces alert volumes from the cloud at a critical time. With this acquisition, it will put pressure on other vendors to consolidate in a similar way -- a big win for security operations teams," Mellen continued. The CNAPP market is increasingly becoming the Formula 1 of cloud security, with Google, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike and Check Point leading the charge. Other CNAPP vendors in the market include Aqua Security, Lacework, Orca Security, Palo Alto Networks, SentinelOne, Sysdig and Trend Micro all offering solutions for cloud security, workload protection and posture management. The AI-enabled CNAPP race is just beginning Google's decision to make their single largest acquisition in its history says they see the pain of siloed slow processes in enterprises they can quickly turn into a profitable new part of their cybersecurity business. CNAPP is the racing engine their prosects and current customers are looking for. For CISOs and security leaders, the key takeaway is clear: the future of cloud security belongs to platforms that integrate AI, automate risk detection, and provide full-stack visibility across multi-cloud environments. Whether Google's Wiz-powered CNAPP takes the lead will depend on how well it integrates with Google's AI-driven threat intelligence and security operations suite. Bottom line: Enterprises need AI-powered CNAPP solutions to streamline CI/CD security and reduce the cloud security burden on DevOps teams. The competition among vendors -- led by Google's Wiz-powered push -- will be won by those who best integrate AI, automate risk detection, and provide full-stack visibility across multi-cloud environments.

Google announces agreement to acquire Wiz

Today we announced an agreement to acquire Wiz. Read our press release below, and learn more about what this means for Cloud customers and partners on the Cloud blog. MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and NEW YORK, N.Y. (March 18, 2025) -- Google LLC today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Wiz, Inc., a leading cloud security platform headquartered in New York, for $32 billion, subject to closing adjustments, in an all-cash transaction. Once closed, Wiz will join Google Cloud. This acquisition represents an investment by Google Cloud to accelerate two large and growing trends in the AI era: improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds (multicloud). Both cybersecurity and cloud computing are rapidly growing industries with a vast range of solutions. The increased role of AI, and adoption of cloud services, have dramatically changed the security landscape for customers, making cybersecurity increasingly important in defending against emergent risks and protecting national security. Wiz delivers an easy-to-use security platform that connects to all major clouds and code environments to help prevent cybersecurity incidents. Organizations of all sizes -- from start-ups and large enterprises to governments and public sector organizations -- can use Wiz to protect everything they build and run in the cloud. Wiz is an innovative leader and continues to deliver new products with strong adoption, fueling rapid business growth, including over the last 12 months in which it has begun to deliver new categories of cybersecurity solutions. Google Cloud is a leader in cloud infrastructure, with deep AI expertise and a track record of industry-leading security innovation. Bringing all this to Wiz will help make their solutions even better and more scalable, benefiting customers and partners across all major clouds. The combination of Google Cloud and Wiz will: Wiz's products will continue to work and be available across all major clouds, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud platforms, and will be offered to customers through an array of partner security solutions. Google Cloud will also continue to offer customers wide choice through a variety of partner security solutions available in the Google Cloud Marketplace. You can read more technical details about Wiz's solutions, and how they will work with Google Cloud, on the Google Cloud blog and Wiz blog. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals. Webcast Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL) will host a webcast to discuss this announcement on Tuesday, March 18, at 6:00am Pacific Time (9:00am Eastern Time). Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google and Alphabet; Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud; Assaf Rappaport, CEO, Wiz; and Anat Ashkenazi, CFO, Google and Alphabet, will discuss the transaction. The webcast can be accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/live/8jY5YBSRVEU. A replay will be available for two weeks through the same link following the webcast. Quotes Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google: "From its earliest days, Google's strong security focus has made us a leader in keeping people safe online. Today, businesses and governments that run in the cloud are looking for even stronger security solutions, and greater choice in cloud computing providers. Together, Google Cloud and Wiz will turbocharge improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds." Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud: "Google Cloud and Wiz share a joint vision to make cybersecurity more accessible and simpler to use for organizations of any size and industry. Enabling more companies to prevent cyber attacks, including in very complex business software environments, will help organizations minimize the cost, disruption and hassle caused by cybersecurity incidents." Assaf Rappaport, Co-Founder & CEO, Wiz: "Wiz and Google Cloud are fully committed to continue supporting and protecting customers across all major clouds, helping keep them safe and secure wherever they operate. This is an exciting moment for our company, but an even more important one for customers and partners, as this acquisition will bolster our mission to improve security and prevent breaches by providing additional resources and deep AI expertise." Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Play, Chrome and YouTube, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely-known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. About Google Cloud Google Cloud is the new way to the cloud, providing AI, infrastructure, developer, data, security, and collaboration tools built for today and tomorrow. Google Cloud offers a powerful, fully integrated and optimized AI stack with its own planet-scale infrastructure, custom-built chips, generative AI models and development platform, as well as AI-powered applications, to help organizations transform. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner. About Wiz Wiz secures everything organizations build and run in the cloud and transforms security by enabling a new operating model. The Wiz CNAPP empowers security and development teams to rapidly identify and remove critical risks in cloud environments, so they can build fast and securely. With Wiz, organizations can prioritize risk and stay agile. Its customers include Agoda, Avery Dennison, BMW, Cushman & Wakefield, DocuSign, Mars, Plaid, Priceline, Salesforce, and Slack, among others. The company is backed by Advent, Aglaé, Andreessen Horowitz, Blackstone, Cyberstarts, Greenoaks, Greylock, Index Ventures, Insight Partners, Lightspeed, Salesforce, Sequoia, Thrive Capital, and Wellington. Forward-Looking Statements This release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding the acquisition of Wiz by Google. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause Alphabet Inc.'s (the "company", "we", "us" or "our") actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the risk that the closing conditions for the acquisition will not be satisfied, including the risk that the requisite regulatory approvals will not be obtained; the risk that the definitive agreement relating to the acquisition will be terminated prior to closing; the possibility that the acquisition will not be completed in the expected timeframe or at all; potential adverse effects to the businesses of the company or Wiz during the pendency of the acquisition; our ability to successfully integrate Wiz or other businesses that we may acquire in the future; our ability to achieve the benefits that we expect to realize as a result of the acquisition of Wiz; the potential negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations if we fail to achieve the benefits that we expect to realize as a result of the acquisition of Wiz or if these benefits take longer to achieve than expected; and other risks and uncertainties discussed in the reports the company has filed previously with the SEC, such as its Annual Report on Form 10-K. We undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements, which speak as of the respective date of this release, except as required by law. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

Google says to buy cybersecurity company Wiz for $32 bn

New York (AFP) - Google said Tuesday it will acquire cloud security platform Wiz for $32 billion, citing the need for greater cybersecurity capacity as artificial intelligence embeds itself in technology infrastructure. The all-cash deal brings Wiz into the Google Cloud operation, boosting the capacity of consumers to use "multiple clouds" and providing "an end-to-end security platform for customers, of all types and sizes, in the AI era," the companies said in a joint press release. The deepening influence of AI makes "cybersecurity increasingly important in defending against emergent risks and protecting national security," the companies said. The transaction, the largest ever sought by Google or parent Alphabet, will test President Donald Trump's openness to large takeovers after resistance to such deals by the administration of Joe Biden. Alphabet had been close to a Wiz takeover last summer, but the deal fell apart due in part to regulatory concerns, according to the Wall Street Journal. Started in 2020 by co-founder and CEO Assaf Rappaport and a team who sold a previous venture to Microsoft, Wiz will continue to work and provide services to platform led by other tech giants including Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Wiz is based in New York, with offices in Tel Aviv and three other US cities. In a webcast after the deal was announced, Rappaport said the service "continuously scans an organization's code and cloud environments, monitoring them in real time" to "prioritize the most critical risk based on real impact and blocks active threats."

Google buys cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion: Here are other big acquisitions by Alphabet

Google's parent company Alphabet has acquired cybersecurity startup Wiz for $32 billion, all in cash. This is the tech giant's biggest acquisition yet. The deal will help Google Cloud compete against Amazon and Microsoft in the cybersecurity sector. Expected to be finalized in 2026, this deal shows the growing importance of AI-enabled cybersecurity as companies invest heavily in digital safety. Google's parent company Alphabet will be acquiring cybersecurity startup Wiz for $32 billion. This is Alphabet's largest-ever deal as it seeks to enhance cloud computing security. The price of the acquisition, announced on Tuesday, is significantly higher than the $23 billion Google had initially offered for Wiz in 2023. The all-cash acquisition is expected to strengthen Google Cloud's security capabilities against rivals Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. The 2023 deal had fallen through over antitrust concerns. This led the cybersecurity startup to shift its focus towards an initial public offering (IPO) and boosting recurring revenue. However, with shifting regulatory policies and Wall Street's optimism about a more business-friendly environment under Donald Trump, Google successfully revived and completed the deal. A Reuters report stated that Wiz is one of the fastest-growing software startups which was valued at $12 billion in a funding round last May. The company offers AI-driven cloud security solutions. This helps businesses detect and mitigate cyber threats. Interest in cybersecurity has skyrocketed since the CrowdStrike outage last year, which affected operations across industries. Businesses have been heavily investing in securing their digital assets which makes Wiz a valuable addition to Google. The company previously acquired Mandiant for $5.4 billion in 2022, outbidding Microsoft. The Wiz acquisition only cements its position in the cybersecurity sector. Also Read : Student Loan Borrowers in US Can Explore These Other ALternatives For Payment Relief In spite of the strategic significance of the deal, Google's shares dipped slightly in premarket trading, the Reuters report stated. According to the report, the stock had seen a solid gain of nearly 35 per cent in 2023. However, it has dropped by 13 per cent this year. This has largely been attributed to the company's substantial investments in AI, especially after the emergence of low-cost competitor -- DeepSeek. Once the deal concludes in 2026, Wiz will become a part of Google Cloud but still offer its services on other major cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud. The firm currently caters to high-profile clients like Morgan Stanley, BMW, and LVMH. Alphabet has acquired over 200 companies so far to enhance its technological capabilities and market presence. Back in 2006, Google made a game-changing move and acquired YouTube for a whopping $1.65 billion and turned it into a powerhouse for video-sharing platforms. It also made the platform a significant player in the advertising world. In 2007, they acquired DoubleClick for $3.1 billion which brought in cutting-edge display advertising technology and completely transformed Google's ad business. By purchasing Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in 2012 to improve its mobile device line, Google solidified its position in the hardware industry. By acquiring Waze for $966 million in 2013 and using real-time, user-generated navigation data, the tech giant greatly advanced its mapping capabilities. Alphabet's acquisition of Nest Labs in 2014 for $3.2 billion confirmed its foray into the intelligent home sector and brought about creative goods like smart thermostats and smoke detection. Alphabet has been on a roll lately, moving into cybersecurity, health tech, and cloud computing. Enhancing its cloud services was the 2016 purchase of Apigee -- $625 million -- in a strong API management solution. Finally, in 2020, Alphabet included Looker in its assets for $2.6 billion dollars, which improved its business intelligence and analytics capacity. The company's purchase of Fitbit in 2021 for $2.1 billion made obvious their venture into wearable technologies and helped to strengthen their position in health tracking. Also Read : Honduras plane crash: 12 dead, survivors rescued as emergency response unfolds Google is acquiring Wiz to enhance its cybersecurity offerings within its cloud computing services. 2 What happens to Wiz after the acquisition? Wiz will join Google Cloud but will still provide its services across all major clouds, including AWS and Microsoft Azure.

Alphabet back in talks to buy Israel's Wiz for over $30 billion, source says

The deal hasn't been signed and could still change, the person familiar with the development said. The Wall Street Journal on Monday first reported the news of the talks between the companies, citing sources. If the Wiz acquisition goes ahead, it would help Alphabet tap the cybersecurity market and expand its booming cloud infrastructure business, which generated more than $43 billion in revenue last year.Google-parent Alphabet is in advanced negotiations to buy Israeli cybersecurity company Wiz with an offer of more than $30 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter, marking its largest potential acquisition to date. Alphabet's latest offer is higher by roughly a third of the $23 billion deal it offered last year, which Wiz called off in July 2024 over concerns it would not clear antitrust hurdles. Wiz had said in an internal memo at the time that it would focus on an initial public offering. Neither company has publicly acknowledged a deal. They did not immediately reply on Monday to Reuters requests for comment. The deal hasn't been signed and could still change, the person familiar with the development said. The Wall Street Journal on Monday first reported the news of the talks between the companies, citing sources. If the Wiz acquisition goes ahead, it would help Alphabet tap the cybersecurity market and expand its booming cloud infrastructure business, which generated more than $43 billion in revenue last year. While U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is widely expected to drop some antitrust policies pursued under the administration of President Joe Biden, a deal that creates a cybersecurity behemoth is still likely to draw scrutiny. Wall Street had expected a bump in dealmaking after Trump's election, but the tariffs he has imposed or threatened have roiled global markets and left businesses and investors uncertain about big decisions. Wiz provides cloud-based cybersecurity solutions powered by artificial intelligence that help companies identify and remove critical risks on cloud platforms. It works with multiple cloud providers such as Microsoft and Amazon and counts companies from Morgan Stanley to DocuSign among its customers. With 900 employees across the United States, Europe, Asia and Israel, Wiz previously said it planned to add 400 workers globally in 2024. Interest in the cybersecurity industry has surged since the global CrowdStrike outage last year, making enterprises more concerned about protecting their digital infrastructures. Wiz was last valued at $12 billion in a private funding round in May 2024.

Google agrees to buy cybersecurity startup Wiz for $32 billion

Google's parent company, Alphabet, has agreed to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for at least $32 billion, according to a report by the Financial Times on Tuesday, citing sources close to the deal. Google-parent Alphabet is in advanced talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for around $30 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, in what could be the tech giant's largest deal ever. A deal could come together soon, granted the talks don't hit last-minute snags, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Wiz had called off a $23-billion deal with Alphabet last year to focus on its initial public offering. The startup provides cloud-based cybersecurity solutions powered by artificial intelligence that help companies identify and remove critical risks on cloud platforms.

Explained: Inside Google's $32 billion Wiz deal

Upon completion of the deal, Wiz will become part of Google Cloud. Google will leverage Wiz to create a unified security offering. Customers will be given enhanced threat intelligence and cybersecurity professionals, including AI agents. Google has confirmed that it has entered into "a definitive agreement" to acquire cloud cybersecurity startup Wiz. According to a joint press release from Google and Wiz, the all-cash deal is valued at $32 billion, subject to closing adjustments. Once finalised, Wiz will become part of Google Cloud. Google CEO Sundar Pichai shared more details about the deal on X. He wrote, "From our earliest days, Google's strong security focus has made us a leader in keeping people safe online." He added, "Today, businesses and governments are looking for even stronger security solutions and greater choice in cloud computing providers. Together, @GoogleCloud + @Wiz_io will turbocharge improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds." This deal will help Google to bolster its cloud business. The tech giant helps customers detect and respond to attacks through both SaaS-based services and cybersecurity consulting. Why the deal? In a blog post, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian explained the reasoning for the deal. He discussed how the shift towards digitalisation, with organisations increasingly adopting multi-cloud or hybrid systems, and the deep integration of software and AI platforms into products and operations, is creating complex challenges and introducing new risks. He wrote, "Traditional approaches to cybersecurity struggle to keep up with this evolving landscape." How does Wiz work? According to the blog, Wiz delivers a "seamless cloud security platform that connects to all major clouds and code environments to help prevent incidents from happening in the first place." Wiz's solution scans a customer's environment, creating a detailed graph of code, cloud resources, services, and applications, along with their connections. It identifies potential attack paths, prioritises critical risks, and helps developers secure applications before deployment. It also enables security teams to collaborate with developers to fix risks or block ongoing attacks. How can Wiz help Google? Kurian said Google will leverage Wiz's business to create a unified security offering, merging Wiz's cloud security platform with Google's. He also said that customers will be provided with enhanced threat intelligence as well as cybersecurity professionals which include AI agents.

Google announces largest deal in 26-year history, to acquire cybersecurity firm Wiz. What does this mean in era of AI?

Google and Wiz have stated that Wiz's products will continue to work across all major clouds - including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud, as well as through other security partners. Google will buy cybersecurity firm Wiz for USD 32 billion to boost the tech giant's in-house cloud computing amid burgeoning artificial intelligence growth. The all-cash acquisition announced Tuesday would be Google's biggest in its 26-year history, and it is the biggest deal of 2025. Wiz will join Google Cloud, boosting Google's in-house cloud security in the era of AI, the companies said, as per a report. "Wiz and Google Cloud are both fueled by the belief that cloud security needs to be easier, more accessible, more intelligent, and democratized, so more organisations can adopt and use cloud and AI securely," Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport said in a blog post. Together, Google CEO Sundar Pichai added in a statement, Google Cloud and Wiz "will turbocharge improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds." Wiz, based in New York, was founded in 2020 and makes security tools designed to protect information stored in remote data centres. Google has had its eyes on Wiz for some time. The sale price announced this week is much more rich than the reported USD 23 billion buyout that Wiz rejected last July - opting to instead pivot back to a previously-planned initial public offering. But on Tuesday, Rappaport said that the company expects to "innovate even faster" by becoming a part of Google. The new Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson has vowed to maintain a tough review process for mergers and acquisitions. The USD 32 billion acquisition announced Tuesday raises antitrust concerns due to the potential impact on standalone cyber security vendors, as well as potential disruption for bigger rivals. Still, Wedbush's analysts note the industry is "ripe for consolidation" - which could pose "massive growth opportunities on the horizon heading into this AI Revolution." Wiz and Google have said that Wiz's products will continue to work across all major clouds - including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud, as well as through other security partners. Subject to the regulatory greenlight and other closing conditions, Google and Wiz expect the deal to close in 2026. Shares for Google owner Alphabet fell nearly 5 per cent Tuesday morning. Q1. What do we know about Wiz? A1. Wiz, based in New York, was founded in 2020 and makes security tools designed to protect information stored in remote data centres. Q2. Which companies will use Wiz products? A2. Wiz and Google say that Wiz's products will continue to work across all major clouds - including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud, as well as through other security partners.

Sundar Pichai on Google's massive $32 billion Wiz deal: 'We don't make deals like this...'

Google has agreed to buy cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion, the company's biggest-ever acquisition. Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian told staff that AI has changed cybersecurity. On company's biggest ever acquisition, the tech giant CEO Sundar Pichai told his employees in an email that such deals are not made everyday. Tech giant Google has agreed to buy Wiz, a fast-growing cybersecurity startup, for $32 billion. This is the company's biggest push to strengthen its cloud-computing business and expand beyond the search engine and consumer internet services that made it a household name. The all-cash deal, announced Tuesday, would be Google's largest, easily surpassing its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility in 2012, according to NYT. This is the company's largest acquisition in its history. Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian reached out to employees telling them "why, and why now" in internal memos, as per Business Insider. An email was sent to Google staff on Tuesday in which the tech giant's top bosses explained why the company plans to spend $32 billion to acquire the cybersecurity startup, which marked the year's biggest deal so far -- and the biggest deal of all time for Alphabet. ALSO READ: Trump's big crackdown on University of Pennsylvania over trans athlete policy: Story in 10 points "We don't make deals like this every day, so I wanted to share a little more about why, and why now," Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in an email, before summarizing some of what was included in the company's public blog post about the deal on Tuesday. Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian emphasized that the announcement comes at a crucial moment as businesses rapidly shift their data to the cloud. "Most deployments now span multiple clouds or hybrid environments, creating complex management challenges," Kurian noted in a memo to employees. ALSO READ: Harry Sisson Snapchat scandal: This TikTok influencer and Biden fan lured women to share explicit videos The acquisition aligns with key trends in the AI-driven era, particularly the demand for enhanced cloud security and multicloud functionality. Wiz, a company specializing in cloud security by scanning data and detecting risks, will remain available on other cloud platforms, including Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Kurian underscored AI's growing impact on cybersecurity: "The rise of AI has intensified both the threats posed by and against AI models." He added, "By joining forces, Google Cloud and Wiz aim to revolutionize security design, operations, and automation for the future." With the deal, Google would get a 5-year-old company that most consumers are unfamiliar with but that a growing number of businesses rely on to protect their cloud applications. The Silicon Valley giant worked for months last year to forge a deal for Wiz, which was most recently valued at $12 billion. In July, Wiz rejected Google's $23 billion takeover offer, saying it wanted to pursue an initial public offering, which never came. ALSO READ: Democrat influencer Harry Sisson under attack for manipulating women to share explicit videos: Who is he? The splashy purchase, which the companies expect to close in 2026, would inject fresh momentum into Google Cloud, the division that sells computing services to other businesses. It would also be the tech giant's most aggressive effort to keep up with rival Microsoft in cybersecurity. But first, Alphabet, Google's parent company, would have to clear regulatory hurdles. Google and Wiz resumed talks about a deal in August, after Wiz walked away from an offer the month before, two people with knowledge of the negotiations said. Wiz had begun another round of fundraising when it agreed to Google's offer, two people close to the company said. If completed, the deal may help reinvigorate Google Cloud's revenue expansion. As the business has grown, its pace has usually slowed, though revenue in the fourth quarter rose a stout 30% from a year earlier, to $12 billion. Wiz has grown rapidly. Last year, it said it had $350 million in recurring revenue, up from $100 million two years earlier. The company, which is based in New York, has said it plans to reach $1 billion in recurring revenue this year. (With NYT inputs)

Google Confirms Acquisition Of Wiz For $32B; Google Cloud Has Bold Plans

'Wiz and Google Cloud share a vision to improve security by making it easier and faster for organizations of all types and sizes to protect themselves, end-to-end, across all major clouds,' said Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian in a blog post Tuesday. Google has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Wiz for $32 billion in a blockbuster move that will shake up the cloud and security industries as well as boost Google Cloud's bold AI ambitions. Once closed, Wiz will become part of Google Cloud, Google's $48 billion cloud business. "Wiz and Google Cloud share a vision to improve security by making it easier and faster for organizations of all types and sizes to protect themselves, end-to-end, across all major clouds," said Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian in a blog post Tuesday. "Together with Wiz, we are excited about the potential to provide customers with a comprehensive security platform that protects modern IT environments," he said. [Related: Google Cloud's 5 Biggest Executive Exits And Hires In 2025 So Far] Kurian said his $48 billion company is a leader in cloud infrastructure, with deep AI expertise and a track record of industry-leading security innovation. "Bringing this to Wiz will help make [customer] solutions even better and more scalable, helping protect more organizations faster," said Kurian. Google said the $32 billion all-cash deal will accelerate two large and growing trends in the AI era that Google Cloud is driving: improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds, known as multi-cloud. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. No time frame was given on when the companies expect the deal to be finalized. Wiz Will Still Work With AWS, Microsoft, Oracle In July 2024, Google was in advanced talks to acquire Wiz for $23 billion but discussions fell apart. Last year, Wiz reached $500 million in annual recurring revenue. Once complete, Wiz's products will continue to work and be available across all major clouds, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud platforms. In addition, Wiz will be offered to customers through an array of partner security solutions, Google said in a statement. Google Cloud will also continue to offer customers choice through a variety of partner security solutions available in the Google Cloud Marketplace. Google-Wiz Will 'Spur The Adoption Of Multi-Cloud Cybersecurity' One major goal for Google Cloud and Wiz is to drive adoption of multi-cloud in the cybersecurity industry. "This will help spur the adoption of multi-cloud cybersecurity, the use of multi-cloud, and competition and growth in cloud computing," said Kurian. Google Cloud's CEO said the combined company will help customers create a stronger foundation for cloud security with a portfolio that solves tomorrow's requirements, including a next-generation unified security platform that combines Wiz's Cloud Security Platform with Google Security Operations. "We are aiming to provide customers with better security for enterprise systems and lower the cost of maintaining a strong security posture across their on-premises and multi-cloud environments," said Kurian.

Google Parent Alphabet To Acquire Wiz In $32 Billion Deal, Its Biggest Bet Yet - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Our government trade tracker caught Pelosi's 169% AI winner. Discover how to track all 535 Congress member stock trades today. On Tuesday, Google parent Alphabet Inc. GOOGL inked an agreement to acquire cloud security firm Wiz for $32 billion in an all-cash deal. Upon closing, Wiz will join Google Cloud. The acquisition marks Alphabet's largest deal to date, surpassing its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility in 2012. Founded in 2020 by former Microsoft Corporation MSFT executives, Wiz provides rapidly growing cloud security solutions and partners with major cloud providers, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. Also Read: Google Pixel 9a Leaks In Hands-On Videos Before Launch: Flat Design, 48MP Camera, 5,100mAh Battery Revealed Headquartered in New York, Wiz was valued at $16 billion in late 2023 and backed by Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz. Alphabet attempted to acquire the company for $23 billion earlier, but talks fell through over regulatory and structural issues. To enhance Google Cloud, Alphabet also acquired Mandiant in March 2022 for $5.40 billion to integrate with the Google Cloud platform. It also acquired Looker in June 2019 for $2.60 billion and Apigee in 2016 for $625 million. Google Cloud's acquisition of Wiz advances its strategy in two rapidly growing areas: cloud security and multicloud adoption in the AI era. As AI-driven cloud usage evolves, the need for scalable, advanced cybersecurity has become critical for businesses and national security. Wiz offers a user-friendly platform compatible with major cloud providers, serving organizations of all sizes with growing security needs. With Google Cloud's AI and security expertise, it will become more automated, scalable, and cost-effective. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, commented, "From its earliest days, Google's strong security focus has made us a leader in keeping people safe online. Today, businesses and governments that run in the cloud are looking for even stronger security solutions, and greater choice in cloud computing providers. Together, Google Cloud and Wiz will turbocharge improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds." At the end of the fourth quarter, Alphabet had $95.66 billion in cash on its balance sheet. Price Action: GOOGL shares are trading higher by 0.03% at $164.34 premarket at the last check Tuesday. Photo by Laylistique via Shutterstock GOOGLAlphabet Inc $164.20-0.05% Stock Score Locked: Want to See it? Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Reveal Full Score Edge Rankings Momentum72.82 Growth62.88 Quality- Value50.85 Price Trend Short Medium Long Overview AMZNAmazon.com Inc $193.48-1.15% MSFTMicrosoft Corp $386.78-0.49% Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Wiz CEO: Google Acquisition Is 'Effectively Strapping A Rocket To Our Backs'

The proposed $32 billion deal to combine Wiz with Google Cloud is poised to 'accelerate our rate of innovation' than the company could on its own, Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport wrote in a post. Google's proposed $32 billion deal to acquire Wiz is poised to take an already rapidly growing cloud and AI security platform and get things moving even faster, Wiz Co-founder and CEO Assaf Rappaport wrote in a post Tuesday. The all-cash deal -- which is subject to regulatory approval and other closing conditions -- is aimed at bolstering Google Cloud's cybersecurity portfolio with capabilities from Wiz's platform. [Related: Analysis: How Wiz Went From Zero To $32B In Five Years] The announcement Tuesday came after Wiz had previously walked away from a reported $23 billion acquisition offer from Google last summer. In his blog post, Rappaport (pictured) did not specify what else may be different now besides the price tag, though he suggested that the dramatic pace of change in the cybersecurity world was a factor. "Wiz has achieved so much in a relatively short period, but cybersecurity moves at warp speed and so must we. The time is now," he wrote. "We expect this change to enable us to execute and innovate even faster," Rappaport wrote in the post Tuesday. "Becoming part of Google Cloud is effectively strapping a rocket to our backs: it will accelerate our rate of innovation faster than what we could achieve as a standalone company." Right out of the gate, Wiz had stood out from the thousands of other cybersecurity startups operating in the market. The cloud and AI security vendor has been growing at a "blinding pace" practically since the get-go after its founding in 2020, Wiz President and CFO Fazal Merchant said in a recent interview with CRN. The Wiz approach has been to offer capabilities that rapidly and dramatically improve cloud visibility, enabling partners and customers to fix misconfigurations and other security gaps in the cloud. But while the company started out focused on cloud, Wiz has been increasingly focused on bringing its same approach to the AI security space. For instance, Wiz became one of the first major vendors to offer AI-SPM (AI security posture management) upon launching the offering in November 2023, a move that was later followed by a number of other competitors. Wiz already possessed the highest valuation of any venture-backed cybersecurity vendor at $12 billion, and its annual recurring revenue reached $500 million last year with an expectation to cross $1 billion this year. Crucially, Wiz has also been doubling down on its work with solution providers, and Rappaport told CRN in an interview last year that partners will undoubtedly be pivotal to the company's next phases of growth. "In cybersecurity partners are super, super important in the success of a company. So we've always [seen that] this has huge potential for us to tap into. I think there is so much more we can do," he said at the time. The areas where partners can work with Wiz to serve customers cover the spectrum from securing code repositories to protecting applications during runtime, Rappaport said during the previous interview. "The opportunity for the partners in working with Wiz is being at the table as stakeholders around every new initiative that's happening," he said at the time. "Cloud is the next infrastructure for the organization, and this is where you want to be." Crucially, Rappaport said in the post Tuesday that partners "remain integral to our strategy of making Wiz open to organizations of all types and sizes." Organizations "now have an even more compelling reason to embrace our cloud security platform; the timing has never been better to partner with Wiz," he wrote. The proposed acquisition by Google also follows the "same guiding principle" that led the company to launch five years ago, according to Rappaport. "Wiz and Google Cloud are both fueled by the belief that cloud security needs to be easier, more accessible, more intelligent, and democratized, so more organizations can adopt and use cloud and AI securely," he said. Ultimately, "all of us at Wiz are committed to continued innovation, to accelerate our pace," Rappaport said, with the singular goal of providing the "best security platform the world has ever seen."

Analysis: How Wiz Went From Zero To $32B In Five Years

The cloud and AI security vendor made some key decisions early on that set itself up for the unprecedented acquisition deal with Google announced Tuesday. The cybersecurity industry has never seen a startup like Wiz before -- a statement that was just as true last week as it is today, with Google announcing a deal to acquire the surging five-year-old company for $32 billion. There are a multitude of reasons why Wiz -- both as a company and as a planned acquisition for Google Cloud's burgeoning security business -- are entirely unprecedented. According to one of the investors who knows Wiz best, CEO Assaf Rappaport and his team made a series of choices early on that positioned the cloud and AI security vendor for the almost absurd growth pace it has seen -- with annual recurring revenue hitting $500 million last year and looking to cross $1 billion this year. After launching Wiz in 2020, the founders quickly "made a number of critical decisions that set themselves up to be really different," said Shardul Shah, a partner at Index Ventures who helped to lead Wiz's Series A funding round in 2020 and has served on its board since then, in an interview with me a year ago. "From the get-go, they knew what it meant to build an enterprise grade solution -- everything from the product to how one makes a customer feel [as] an enterprise grade solution," Shah told me. "Second, they understood what the business' requirements were -- around agility, as an example -- and were able to construct a solution relevant for that problem." After that, he said, Wiz's founding team made some product development decisions that were crucial: "They built a product that had really special ergonomics." "The product is simple, but it's not simplistic. It can deliver value to an individual [and also] to teams and organizations very rapidly -- which is really hard balance to strike without eroding the value proposition to any one of those stakeholders," Shah said. "To pull this off, they definitely made some decisions from an architectural perspective that were extraordinarily valuable, including [on the] graph-based database -- but again, with an eye toward building a platform with multiple products that could be used in concert," he told me. "To deliver against that, they were really opinionated about their org design and how they could enable an engineering team to move quickly with high quality in parallel -- all while scaling the business extremely rapidly in a competitive environment." In other words, Wiz brought a "combination of market demand, the product engineering opinions that we've talked about and go-to-market execution I think are the contributors to why Wiz grew from zero to $350 million of ARR in three and a half years." Or, to update the comment for today's announcement, from zero to $32 billion in potential market value in five years -- a feat we may not see again in the cybersecurity industry anytime soon.

Google-Wiz Deal: 5 Huge Microsoft, AWS, AI And Google Cloud Things To Know

Sitting on $95 billion in cash, Google decided to pull the trigger on buying one of the world's hottest startups and most innovative cloud security companies in Wiz. The market disruption that Google's planned $32 billion acquisition of Wiz has spurred is monumental as Google Cloud is positioning itself to win market share from rivals Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, as all three cloud titans battle to become a leader in the AI era. Despite valuation concerns and regulatory risks, the Mountain View, Calif.-based tech giant's highly aggressive move might precisely be what Google Cloud needs to solidify its cybersecurity portfolio. "This will help spur the adoption of multi-cloud cybersecurity, the use of multi-cloud, and competition and growth in cloud computing," said Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian this week. [Related: Google Cloud's 5 Biggest Executive Exits And Hires In 2025 So Far] Google currently has more than $95 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term marketable securities -- meaning it has the funding. However, analysts expect the transaction won't close until 2026 due to the regulatory approvals needed and closing conditions. For example, Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks has hit numerous regulatory blockades from the U.S. Department of Justice. Google's Wiz acquisition -- with a price tag that is more than double that of the HPE-Juniper merger -- will likely attract antitrust groups and reviews, potentially delaying the deal. If the deal closes, Wiz will be operating under $48 billion Google Cloud. It's not clear if it will operate as an independent entity within Google Cloud or be fully integrated. In July 2024, Google was in advanced talks to acquire Wiz for $23 billion but discussions fell apart. Wiz then said it would focus on an initial public offering. However, eight months later and with an additional $9 billion added to the price tag, it has won over Wiz. From its agentic AI hopes to boosting competition against Microsoft and AWS, here are five key things to know about Google's blockbuster planned acquisition of Wiz that every partner, investor and customer should know.

Analysis: Google Is Getting A Good Deal For Wiz, Actually

At least in the case of a highly unique and disruptive player like Wiz, a $32 billion price tag for a five-year-old company may not be so outrageous. Since the news broke Tuesday morning that Google had reached a deal to acquire cloud and AI security wunderkind Wiz, much of the commentary has fixated on the price tag. And understandably so: Even a company with the scale and prominence of Google has never before paid anywhere near the $32 billion it's prepared to spend on Wiz. That Wiz could fetch this kind of price after just five years in business is, no question about it, an astounding feat. But for those observers who assume this is just another case of a tech giant over-paying for a buzzy new startup, it really isn't. [Related: Analysis: How Wiz Went From Zero To $32B In Five Years] Practically from the get-go, Wiz has stood out as a highly unique and disruptive player in the red-hot category of cloud security. Wiz specializes in capabilities that rapidly improve visibility into cloud environments, enabling much faster fixes for misconfigurations and other security gaps in the cloud. And notably, the company is now extending its capabilities to the increasingly crucial AI security space. Using this massively disruptive approach, Wiz has built a real business that has been seeing unheard-of growth all along the way. The company went from zero to $100 million in annual recurring revenue during its first 18 months in the market, before surging to $500 million in ARR over the next two-and-a-half years. (Reportedly, expectations are for the company to double to $1 billion in ARR this year.) For (very rough) comparison purposes, consider that data security vendor Rubrik reached the $500 million ARR milestone in nine years while SASE unicorn Netskope did so after more than a decade in business. And those are the two of the relatively rare security vendors that have even reached that scale at all. In other words, Wiz has been hitting revenue milestones just about twice as quickly as other, top-tier cybersecurity vendors. The bottom line is that, at least based on the available information about private companies, it's obvious that no other cloud security startup has had anywhere near the level of growth or market awareness enjoyed by Wiz. For Google Cloud, meanwhile, it's clear that the company needed to make an impossible-to-ignore statement to the market that it's serious about enterprise security. That was my takeaway, at least, from speaking with Gartner's Neil MacDonald yesterday. MacDonald, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner, pointed out that Wiz has exactly what Google feels it needs at this stage: A solid leadership position in the rapidly growing cloud and AI security segment. Prior security moves for Google, most notably the $5.4 billion acquisition of Mandiant in 2022, have certainly laid the groundwork for a broader enterprise security push at Google Cloud. Still, MacDonald told me, "I don't think organizations would say [Google is] a top 10 strategic security vendor" as of today. Quite simply, Google's aim is to change that ASAP, and Wiz is the catalyst. As Google CEO Sundar Pichai reportedly wrote in an email to staff on Tuesday, "we don't make deals like this every day." The unprecedented acquisition price is only the most obvious of the signs that this is a very unique deal, and probably not the most meaningful indicator. What I mean is, Google could conceivably do another M&A deal of this size in the future. But will we ever see another cybersecurity startup like Wiz? That seems much less likely. If nothing else, turning down Google's reported initial offer of $23 billion last summer, only to have the tech giant return a few quarters later with $9 billion more, should earn Wiz a spot in the annals of startup legend.

Google to Acquire Cybersecurity Firm Wiz for USD 32 Billion in AI Security Push

Wiz provides an easy-to-use security platform compatible with AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud. Google on Tuesday announced a definitive agreement to acquire Wiz, a cloud security platform for USD 32 billion in an all-cash transaction. Subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, Wiz will join Google Cloud upon completion of the deal. Google says the acquisition highlights Google Cloud's commitment to strengthening cybersecurity and advancing multi-cloud capabilities in the AI-driven era. Also Read: AI: Google Health AI Updates, xAI Acquires GenAI Video Startup, Mistral Releases Small AI Model "Both cybersecurity and cloud computing are rapidly growing industries with a vast range of solutions. The increased role of AI, and adoption of cloud services, have dramatically changed the security landscape for customers, making cybersecurity increasingly important in defending against emergent risks and protecting national security," Google said in a blog post on March 18. According to Google, Wiz, headquartered in New York, offers an easy-to-use security platform that connects to all major cloud providers and code environments to help prevent cybersecurity incidents. "Organisations of all sizes -- from start-ups and large enterprises to governments and public sector organisations -- can use Wiz to protect everything they build and run in the cloud." Wiz continues to deliver new products with strong adoption, fueling rapid business growth, including over the last 12 months, during which it has begun to deliver new categories of cybersecurity solutions, Google noted. Also Read: Oracle UK Investment, ServiceNow AI Agents, Google AI Chip, Tech Mahindra-Google Cloud Partnership By combining Google Cloud's security expertise with Wiz's platform, the partnership aims to enhance security automation, reduce costs for customers, and improve threat prevention in the evolving AI landscape. Wiz's solutions will remain compatible with all major cloud platforms, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud, Google said. Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google said: "From its earliest days, Google's strong security focus has made us a leader in keeping people safe online. Today, businesses and governments that run in the cloud are looking for even stronger security solutions, and greater choice in cloud computing providers. Together, Google Cloud and Wiz will turbocharge improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds." Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud: "Google Cloud and Wiz share a joint vision to make cybersecurity more accessible and simpler to use for organisations of any size and industry. Enabling more companies to prevent cyber attacks, including in very complex business software environments, will help organisations minimise the cost, disruption and hassle caused by cybersecurity incidents." Also Read: AI: Google Gemma 3, Palantir to Work With Archer, Qualcomm, and Anthropic-CommBank Partnership Assaf Rappaport, Co-Founder and CEO, Wiz: "Wiz and Google Cloud are fully committed to continue supporting and protecting customers across all major clouds, helping keep them safe and secure wherever they operate. This is an exciting moment for our company, but an even more important one for customers and partners, as this acquisition will bolster our mission to improve security and prevent breaches by providing additional resources and deep AI expertise." Google Cloud will continue offering security solutions through its marketplace.

Prediction: Wiz Will Be a Game-Changing Acquisition for Alphabet | The Motley Fool

After trying and failing to acquire Wiz last year, Alphabet (GOOGL -0.65%) (GOOG -0.72%) has reached a deal to buy the fast-growing cybersecurity company. It is paying a steep price of $32 billion, up from the the $23 billion it offered last year. It will also pay Wiz employees $1 billion in retention bonuses. Wiz backed out of the deal last year over antitrust concerns, but expects a more favorable environment under the Trump administration. In my view, this deal looks like a game changer for Alphabet. Let's examine why. The acquisition of Wiz adds yet another strong business to Alphabet. While best known for its Google search engine, Alphabet actually has a strong collection of market-leading and emerging businesses. It's the leading digital advertiser in the world, where it not only serves ads for Google, but for its other properties and third-party sites as well. Its YouTube streaming service is the most watched streaming platform in the U.S. and the fourth-largest digital advertising platform in the world. It owns the world's third-largest cloud computing company in Google Cloud, which has been its fastest-growing segment. It has also taken leading positions in emerging technologies such as quantum computing and autonomous driving with its Waymo unit. Wiz only adds to Alphabet's collection of leading tech businesses and further highlights that Alphabet is much more than search. In addition, it is purchasing a fast-growing company in a booming field. Wiz is a leader in cloud detection and response (CDR) security, where its Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) uses artificial intelligence (AI) to quickly scan and identify vulnerabilities across the cloud environment. Its platform connects to every cloud environment and covers every aspect of cloud security. It's also been developing new products as it continues to innovate. Two launched in the past year include a code-to-cloud security solution called Wiz Code, and a detection and response solution for SecOps (security operation) teams called Wiz Defend. This should help the company grow with its existing customer base over time as it adds more solution modules. Wiz counts the three biggest cloud computing companies -- Google Cloud, Amazon's AWS, and Microsoft's Azure -- among its customers, as well as half of the Fortune 100. Large enterprise customers include Morgan Stanley, BMW, and LVMH. Following the acquisition, Wiz will continue to partner with all cloud computing companies. However, owning Wiz should be a big boost to Alphabet's Google Cloud unit. It will strengthen Google Cloud's security offerings and should help differentiate it from the competition. Meanwhile, Alphabet will be able to sell Wiz's products into its large base of Google Cloud customers, as well. Google Cloud has been Alphabet's fastest-growing segment, with revenue climbing 30% last quarter and segment operating income soaring 142%. Wiz should only increase the attractiveness of its cloud offering, given its strong reputation as a cloud cybersecurity provider. Cybersecurity threats are not slowing, and with the growth of cloud computing and AI, this deal helps set Alphabet apart. The Wiz deal, assuming it closes, will be the largest in Alphabet's history. It's paying a hefty price tag believed to be around 60 times Wiz's 2024 annual recurring revenue of $500 million in 2024. However, Wiz has a very strong platform that is growing quickly, and Alphabet should be able to accelerate growth given its large installed Google Cloud customer base. The deal should also help make Google Cloud more attractive to potential enterprise customers. This could help bolster growth not just from selling Wiz solutions, but from attracting new customers to Google Cloud. Alphabet has done very well with acquisitions in the past, most notably with YouTube, which it acquired in 2006 for $1.65 billion. At the time, YouTube was an unprofitable start-up facing copyright concerns. It was also Alphabet's largest-ever acquisition when the deal closed. Last quarter alone, YouTube generated $10.5 billion in revenue. Together with its early acquisition of cybersecurity company Mandiant, a leading cyber threat intelligence company, Alphabet is creating a world-class cybersecurity business. This just adds another growth lever to the company. Given its growing array of top-notch businesses, Alphabet's stock is just way too cheap, trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of under 18 times 2025 analysts' estimates. Alphabet looks like a great buy at current levels, and once the dust from the market sell-off clears, investors should start to realize the extremely valuable set of assets the company has collected. The Wiz acquisition just adds to these strong businesses and should be a big growth driver in the years ahead.

Why Does Google Want Multi-Cloud Security Platform Wiz So Badly? | PYMNTS.com

The cloud environment is, as a class, mostly secure. But the way that enterprises, and their employees, actually utilize the cloud service ecosystem is not. That was the insight that helped a startup's founding team scale and sell their first cybersecurity company, Adallom, to Microsoft for $320 million in 2015. Now, they are back at it. This time, however, it's Google on the buying side. And in 2025, the acquisition price for a cutting-edge cybersecurity solution, it turns out, is $33 billion. News broke Monday (March 17) that Google parent Alphabet is reportedly close to a deal to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz after a $23 billion deal fell through last summer due to investor and antitrust concerns. Founded in 2020 by veterans of Israel's elite cyber intelligence defense unit, Wiz has rapidly ascended in the cybersecurity domain. The company offers artificial intelligence (AI)-driven, cloud-based security solutions that enable organizations to identify and mitigate critical risks across their cloud infrastructures. It was valued at $12 billion after raising $1 billion in a funding round last spring. The acquisition comes at a time when cybersecurity is paramount. A supply-chain attack over the weekend (March 15), spotlighted by Wiz, compromised open-source software used by more than 23,000 organizations with credential-stealing code. In response to the evolving threat landscape, organizations are increasingly investing in advanced security solutions to safeguard their operations and data. Read more: How Back-Office Leaders Are Selling the C-Suite on Risk and Compliance The Imperative of Enhanced Cloud Security Upon the pending completion of the renewed acquisition, Wiz will integrate into Google's cloud unit, with its products remaining accessible across other major cloud services. This integration is expected to enhance Google's cybersecurity offerings, providing clients with more robust and comprehensive security solutions. According to the PYMNTS Intelligence report "Cybersecurity Risks Cause Middle-Market CFOs to Cancel Innovation Plans," 44% of middle-market firms have invested in cybersecurity defenses. The deal is projected to close "quickly," pending regulatory approvals. Under President Donald Trump's administration, there has been a discernible shift towards a more deal-friendly antitrust environment. Neither Alphabet nor Wiz immediately replied to PYMNTS' request for comment. Google's pursuit of Wiz serves as an exclamation point on how the landscape of cloud security is continually evolving, with several key trends shaping its future. One of the biggest strides being made is the embrace of AI and machine learning (ML) as integral to cybersecurity strategies, enabling real-time analysis and swift identification of anomalies. These technologies enhance the ability to pre-emptively detect and respond to threats, thereby reducing potential damages. PYMNTS Intelligence's 29-page report, "Leveraging AI and ML to Thwart Scammers," a collaboration with Hawk, contains eight charts of proprietary data examining the role of ML and AI to help keep fraudsters from getting the upper hand. See also: What B2B Firms Can Learn From Big Tech's Cybersecurity Initiatives The Future of Cyber Defense At the same time, the traditional perimeter-based security approach is giving way to Zero Trust architectures, which operate on the principle of "never trust, always verify." This model requires continuous verification of users and devices, minimizing the risk of unauthorized access. As cyber threats targeting supply chains become more sophisticated, organizations are also demanding greater transparency from vendors and employing advanced tools to analyze code dependencies in real-time. PYMNTS has been monitoring the rapid evolution of the cyber threat landscape, as revealed by the staggering number of attacks in 2024. Among the more prominent incidents was the theft of a "significant volume of data" stolen from at least 165 customers of multi-cloud data warehousing platform Snowflake, in which the personal information from "nearly all" of AT&T's wireless customers was stolen. "The barrier for entry has never been lower for threat actors," Sunil Mallik, chief information security officer at Discover® Global Network, told PYMNTS, noting that the cost of computing power has decreased dramatically over the past decade, making it easier for criminals to access powerful tools and launch sophisticated attacks. These efforts are happening as regulators are pushing for stronger cloud security protections, as noted here. Separately, B2B cyber audits can help organizations assess their security posture, identify vulnerabilities and build trust with partners and clients. For C-suite leaders, these audits are not just about compliance but about safeguarding their enterprise's long-term stability, resilience and trust.

Google parent Alphabet back in deal to buy cybersecurity startup Wiz...

Google-parent Alphabet is in advanced talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for around $30 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, in what could be the tech giant's largest deal ever. A deal could come together soon, granted the talks don't hit last-minute snags, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Wiz had called off a $23-billion deal with Alphabet last year to focus on its initial public offering. The startup provides cloud-based cybersecurity solutions powered by artificial intelligence that help companies identify and remove critical risks on cloud platforms.

Alphabet Acquires Wiz for $32 Billion to Strengthen AI-Powered Cloud Security

Alphabet finalizes $32 billion Wiz acquisition to boost Google Cloud's AI-driven cybersecurity capabilities Alphabet, the parent company of Google, announced the acquisition of Wiz for $32 billion, a leading cybersecurity startup. Alphabet purchased Wiz to improve its cloud services while meeting the growing need for artificial intelligence in cybersecurity solutions. Alphabet continues to secure regulatory approval on the deal, which allows it to compete more effectively against leaders in the cloud computing space, including Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. This acquisition surpasses all previous acquisitions made by , thereby becoming its most significant deal, and it exceeds even the $12.5 billion Google paid for Motorola Mobility in 2011.

Google's Mega Deal: Alphabet Acquires Wiz for US$32B - What's Next?

In a bid to strengthen its cloud security and AI capabilities, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has announced that it would acquire the cybersecurity company Wiz for US$32 billion in cash. The acquisition is the largest in Alphabet's history, surpassing the previous record of US$12.5 billion for Motorola Mobility in 2011. The company's investment also shows the growing importance of cybersecurity for protecting cloud-based operations as AI technologies revolutionise sectors across the board.

Google to acquire cloud security firm Wiz for $32 billion By Investing.com

Investing.com - Google said today it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Wiz, a prominent cloud security platform, for $32 billion in an all-cash deal. Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)'s shares were unchanged in premarket trade Tuesday. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing adjustments, will integrate Wiz into Google Cloud once completed. The company said the acquisition is a strategic move by Google Cloud to enhance its security capabilities and address the increasing need for multi-cloud strategies in the era of artificial intelligence (AI). As cloud computing and cybersecurity industries continue to expand, the demand for robust security solutions to protect against evolving threats and maintain national security is becoming more critical. Wiz's platform is known for its user-friendly interface and its ability to connect with all major cloud services and coding environments, helping to prevent cybersecurity incidents. The merger is expected to result in a comprehensive security platform that addresses the design, operation, and automation of security in the AI era. Wiz's products will remain operational and accessible across major clouds, including Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Web Services, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Azure, and Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Cloud. Google Cloud will also offer a selection of partner security solutions through the Google Cloud Marketplace.

Wiz acquisition positive for Google, AI prospects - Mizuho By Investing.com

Investing.com-- Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has agreed to acquire Israeli cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion in cash, a move Mizuho analysts say will significantly enhance Google Cloud's security capabilities and position it at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity. Mizuho analysts view the deal as strategically important, enabling Google Cloud to close the cybersecurity gap with hyperscalers like Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) Web Services and Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Azure. Wiz, a leader in cloud security, has disclosed $500 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and aims to reach $1 billion by 2025, Mizuho analysts noted. Wiz's capabilities in multi-cloud security, AI security, and infrastructure protection will be key differentiators, analysts said. Mizuho also highlighted the potential for integrating Wiz with Google's Gemini AI model to improve Gen-AI security, reducing risks such as "hallucinations" and intellectual property violations. While the deal is expected to close next year, Mizuho noted that competitors like Palo Alto Networks Inc (NASDAQ:PANW) and CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) could benefit in the near term due to possible integration challenges at Google Cloud.

Alphabet Eyes $30 Billion Cybersecurity Coup: A Wiz Move?

If successful, this acquisition would mark Alphabet's largest deal to date, underscoring its ambitions to fortify its position in the cybersecurity realm. The whispers of this potential acquisition have been swirling since Monday, with The Wall Street Journal first breaking the news. However, as with all high-stakes negotiations, the ink is yet to dry, and the terms could still evolve, according to a source with insider knowledge. Wiz, a rising star in the cybersecurity sector, had previously walked away from a $23 billion offer from Alphabet last year, opting instead to focus on its initial public offering. The startup has carved a niche for itself by offering cloud-based cybersecurity solutions powered by artificial intelligence, helping companies navigate the treacherous waters of cloud platform vulnerabilities. Should the deal come to fruition, Alphabet would not only bolster its cybersecurity capabilities but also enhance its already thriving cloud infrastructure segment, which raked in over $43 billion in revenue last year. The right timing However, such a monumental acquisition is likely to attract the watchful eyes of regulators, ever vigilant for signs of monopolistic behavior among tech behemoths. The timing of Alphabet's renewed interest in Wiz is noteworthy. The cybersecurity industry has been thrust into the spotlight following last year's global CrowdStrike outage, which left enterprises scrambling to safeguard their digital fortresses.