Google To Acquire Wiz For $32bn In Cloud Security Mega-Deal

Google on Tuesday said it would buy New York-based cloud security company Wiz in a $32 billion (£24.6bn) all-cash deal that marks its biggest acquisition to date.

The move, which Google said it expects to close next year, underscores Google’s efforts to compete with cloud rivals including Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services by expanding what it offers customers.

Google said the acquisition would help scale Wiz’s services, which it said would continue to work on competitors’ platforms.

Cloud competition

Cloud services have acquired a new significance with the tech industry’s current focus on AI, which relies on cloud infrastructure in which tech companies are investing tens of billions.

Last year Wiz declined a $23bn buyout offer from Google in a decision that co-founder Assaf Rappaport said in a memo to employees was “humbling”.

The company told staff at the time that it would pursue an IPO instead, but the flotation market has remained uninspiring.

Meanwhile companies anticipate that the environment for large mergers and acquisitions should improve under US president Donald Trump, after increased scrutiny and difficulties under the previous administration.

Wiz reportedly walked away from the earlier offer last July in part due to investor and antitrust concerns.

Shortly afterward, Google was found by a federal judge to hold an illegal monopoly in online search, in an ongoing case that continues to weigh on the company.

Rapid growth

Wiz was founded in 2020 and has grown rapidly, reaching $100m in annual recurring revenue after only 18 months.

Rappaport said joining Google would “accelerate our rate of innovation”.

Google has largely avoided huge acquisitions, with its largest buy prior to Wiz being its purchase of Motorola in 2012, some assets of which it sold to Lenovo two years later for $2.9bn.

Google bought cybersecurity company Mandiant in 2022 for $5.4bn, outbidding Microsoft.