Google (GOOGL)
-2.34%
) on Tuesday announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz for $32 billion in an all-cash transaction.
In a blog post, Google Cloud stated, “We are thrilled about the opportunity to work with Wiz to offer customers a complete security platform that safeguards contemporary IT environments.”
In order to introduce multicloud cybersecurity, including a cutting-edge unified security platform that blends Wiz’s Cloud Security Platform with Google Security Operations, Wiz is scheduled to join Google Cloud, the company’s cloud infrastructure.Google stated in a press release that this acquisition is an investment by Google Cloud to accelerate two significant and expanding trends in the AI era: enhanced cloud security and multicloud (multicloud) functionality.
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The new platform will also contain technologies from cybersecurity expert Mandiant, which Google purchased for $5.4 billion in 2022.
Wiz’s products will continue to be available across all major clouds, including Amazon Web Services (AMZN
-1.39%
), Microsoft Azure (MSFT
-1.48%
), and Oracle Cloud (ORCL
-2.76%
platforms.
Google and Wiz have previously danced together. In July 2024, the tech giant was in negotiations to buy Wiz for about $23 billion, but Wiz turned down the offer and stated it would keep working for an IPO. That never came to pass.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note on Tuesday morning that if the transaction goes through, it would be “a shot across the bow at other big tech stalwarts,” particularly for Amazon and Microsoft, both of which are involved in the cloud security market. To complement its cloud offering, Google is “making a major bet on the cyber security space,” according to the letter. This will provide Google an advantage in a number of cloud installations and further monetize the cyber security cloud market.
According to Wedbush, Google Cloud plans to transform Wiz, the industry’s top platform for protecting cloud-native apps, into a cyber security division worth over $1 billion in the upcoming years.
Chief executive Assaf Rappaport, along with Yinon Costica, Roy Reznik, and Ami Luttwak, created Wiz in 2020. With yearly recurring income of $100 million after just 18 months of operation, the firm considers itself the fastest-growing startup in the world.
Previously, in 2015, Rappaport, Reznik, and Luttwak sold Adallom, their first cloud security startup, to Microsoft for $320 million.And with previous chair Lina Khan gone at the FTC, the acquisition may potentially “open the door to a massive wave of M&A across the tech landscape,” Ives said.
“Big Tech giants will continue to be aggressive on M&A and not shy away due to regulatory worries in our view, as an arms race on the cloud and AI is fully underway,” Ives stated.