Google to acquire Israeli cybersecurity firm Wiz in record $32 billion deal

By integrating Wiz’s technology, Google aims to bolster its cybersecurity capabilities, positioning itself to better compete with industry leaders like Amazon, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, and CrowdStrike.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has agreed to acquire Israeli-founded cybersecurity firm Wiz in an all-cash transaction valued at $32 billion, marking the largest acquisition of an Israeli tech company to date, the companies announced on Tuesday.

“We expect this change to enable us to execute and innovate even faster. 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,” Wiz said.

Wiz specializes in cloud security, providing a platform that scans cloud environments—such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud—for vulnerabilities and security risks.

“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 said.

By integrating Wiz’s technology, Google aims to bolster its cybersecurity capabilities, positioning itself to better compete with industry leaders like Amazon, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, and CrowdStrike.

For Google, this acquisition represents its most significant purchase ever, surpassing its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility in 2012.

It also exceeds the previous record for an Israeli-founded company, set in 2017 when Intel acquired Jerusalem-based Mobileye for $15.3 billion.

This deal follows a previous takeover bid from Alphabet when Wiz turned down a $23 billion offer last summer. The earlier negotiations stalled due to regulatory concerns raised by Wiz and some of its investors.

Wiz was co-founded in Tel Aviv in 2020 by Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Ami Luttwak and Roy Reznik. The same group founded the cloud security company Adallom in 2012, then sold it to Microsoft for $320 million three years later.