Google is reportedly closing in on its biggest acquisition ever. The tech titan is on the verge of buying cloud cybersecurity startup Wiz for around $23 billion, The Wall Street Journal reports. The talks have already progressed to an advanced stage, people familiar with the matter told the publication. The biggest Google acquisition so far is Motorola Mobility, which it bought for $12.5 billion in 2012 and sold for $2.91 billion in 2014.
Google is in advanced talks for a $23 billion acquisition of Wiz
Founded in 2020 by four former Microsoft employees, Wiz is a New York-based cloud cybersecurity provider. It specializes in analyzing corporate cloud computing infrastructure for combinations of risk factors that could lead to security breaches. The startup uses data from Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Oracle Cloud, and other cloud platforms to identify potential risk factors.
The firm’s solutions allow companies to “rapidly identify and remove critical risks” and secure their cloud platforms. In August 2022, Wiz claimed to be the fastest startup to scale from $1 million to $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). It allegedly achieved the feat in around 18 months. The startup has raised $1.9 billion in various funding rounds in its lifetime. Of that, $1 billion came in Series E funding in April 2024.
Wiz raised the money at a $12 billion valuation. Google is seemingly buying it for almost double that amount. The company likely sees Wiz’s technologies as a valuable addition to fortify its cloud business. The business division grew 28% in the first quarter of 2024, securing a revenue of $9.57 billion. The tech biggie would want to strengthen its security measures amid increasing demand for cloud-based generative AI tools.
Google has already invested big in acquiring cloud security startups. In January 2022, it acquired Israel-based startup Siemplify for $500 million. The firm followed up with a $5.4 billion acquisition of Mandiant later that year. Wiz might soon join the internet behemoth’s ever-growing cybersecurity umbrella. It seemingly wants to take no chance against fast-evolving threat actors who have hacked the servers of some of the biggest tech firms in recent years.
The deal might face strict regulatory scrutiny and could even fall through
While Google and Wiz look likely to agree on an acquisition deal, they may find it difficult to please the US regulators. The Biden administration has been tightening regulatory scrutiny on tech biggies. Time will tell whether the Android maker can bring another cloud security provider under its sleeve or if American lawmakers prevent that from happening on fair competition grounds. Expect more details in the coming weeks.
2024-07-16 15:09:14