- Google’s parent company Alphabet is reportedly in advanced acquisition talks with Wiz in a deal that could be worth as much as $23 billion.
- Google is working to strengthen its cybersecurity business with a focus on cloud computing and investing heavily in its cloud computing business and growing rapidly.
OUR TAKE
Google has been working to strengthen its cybersecurity business with a focus on cloud computing. According to the Wall Street Journal, Google will spend nearly $23 billion to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz. If success, it will not only propel Alphabet’s rapid growth in the cloud, but also set a new benchmark in cybersecurity.
–Elodie Qian, BTW reporter
What happened
Google’s parent company Alphabet may be on the verge of making its biggest acquisition ever. According to the Wall Street Journal, Alphabet is in advanced acquisition talks with Wiz in a deal that could be worth as much as $23 billion. The deal, if struck, would mark a major move by Google into cybersecurity and cloud computing. In addition, it is also the largest acquisition by an Israeli company, surpassing the record currently held by Mobileye, which is sold to Intel in 2017 for $15 billion.
Founded in 2020, New York-based Wiz has grown rapidly under the leadership of CEO Assaf Rappaport. The company was considering an IPO listing in May of this year, when it is valued at $12 billion. Wiz’s platform acts as a centralised hub, integrating with a variety of cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform itself. This approach allows Wiz to ingest data from a variety of sources and scan it for potential security vulnerabilities.
The acquisition of Wiz could help boost Alphabet’s efforts in cloud computing, an area where Alphabet lags behind its competitors. By integrating Wiz’s technology and resources, Google is expected to further improve the security and reliability of its cloud computing services, thereby attracting more business and institutional users.
Wiz joining Google’s parent company could provide it with significant resources and a broader market reach, which could accelerate Wiz’s growth.
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Why it’s important
The acquisition of Wiz would make Google’s biggest deal to date. Despite having a market capitalisation of more than $2 trillion, Google has been more conservative in its acquisitions in recent years than some of its big tech peers. It has shied away from big deals like Microsoft’s $26 billion acquisition of LinkedIn or its $75 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard.
Google has been working to strengthen its cybersecurity business with a focus on cloud computing. Google’s strength in the cloud computing market is nowhere near as strong as its strength in search and online advertising, but it is investing heavily in its cloud computing business and growing rapidly. Last year, Google’s cloud revenue grew 26% and it made its first operating profit.
However, the proposed acquisition of Wiz could face greater scrutiny from regulators given Alphabet’s existing antitrust issues. So far, the US Department of Justice has filed multiple lawsuits against Google, accusing the tech giant of anti-competitive behaviour. Against this backdrop, the Wiz acquisition is likely to attract extensive regulatory attention and could complicate the finalisation of the deal.
