Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is negotiating to buy cybersecurity startup Wiz for approximately $23 billion, which would be its largest acquisition to date. Discussions are still ongoing and weeks away from completion, with potential for the deal to fall apart due to unresolved details. This acquisition could face scrutiny from antitrust regulators, who have been increasingly vigilant about tech companies buying emerging firms.
If successful, this acquisition would mark Alphabet’s significant push into cybersecurity, following its $5.4 billion purchase of Mandiant two years ago. Wiz, founded four years ago by Israeli former Microsoft executive Assaf Rappaport, has raised about $2 billion from investors and is valued at $12 billion. Its investors include Sequoia and Thrive, and it counts Salesforce, Mars, and BMW among its customers.
Wiz, headquartered in New York, specializes in securing cloud-based programs, a service that has seen increased demand as more companies move their operations and data online. The startup has reported about $350 million in annual recurring revenue. If completed, the deal would be one of the largest acquisitions of a venture capital-backed company.
