Google purchasing startup Wiz for $32 billion

Google has reached a deal with Wiz to purchase the cloud cybersecurity startup. 

The tech giant will pay $32 billion in cash to become the owner of Wiz “subject to closing adjustments,” Alphabet-owned Google said Tuesday. 

The all-cash buyout comes after Wiz rejected a $23 billion bid from Alphabet last year due to concerns about antitrust approvals and its aim to focus on an initial public offering. 

The cloud cybersecurity startup will be under Google Cloud once the deal closes, according to Google. Completion of the acquisition is anticipated to happen in 2026.

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“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,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a statement. “Together, Google Cloud and Wiz will turbocharge improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds.”

Acquiring Wiz will help Google bolster its cloud business with AI-powered cybersecurity solutions that companies use to remove critical risks, helping it compete better in an industry benefiting from the rise of generative AI services like ChatGPT.

Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport said Tuesday that joining Google Cloud will help the cloud cybersecurity startup speed up its work and innovation. 

“Becoming part of Google Cloud is effectively strapping a rocket on our backs: it will accelerate our rate of innovation faster than what we could achieve as a standalone company,” he said.

The startup, which notched a $12 billion valuation last year, works with Amazon Web Services, Microsoft’s Azure as well as Google Cloud and counts Morgan Stanley, BMW and luxury powerhouse LVMH among its customers.

Post-transaction, Wiz will still offer its products on clouds like AWS, Azure and Oracle Cloud, according to Wiz and Google. 

Google’s deal with Wiz marks the tech giant’s latest purchase of a cybersecurity firm, having previously brought Mandiant under its umbrella a few years ago. That deal was worth $5.4 billion.

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Google Cloud has other security offerings through Google Threat Intelligence, Google Security Operations and Security Command Center, according to a Tuesday investor presentation. 

Rapapport created Wiz with Ami Luttwak, Yinon Costica and Roy Reznik in early 2020. It now protects 5 million cloud workloads and scans 230 billion files on a daily basis as part of its business, according to its website. 

Reuters contributed to this report.