which cited people familiar with the situation, Google is in advanced talks to buy cybersecurity company Wiz for $23 billion.
A deal might be announced soon, the Journal was informed by someone with knowledge.
Wiz was established in 2020, and under CEO Assaf Rappaport, the company has expanded quickly. In May, the firm reached a $12 billion valuation, and at the time, it was considering an IPO.
Wiz declined to respond through a spokesman.
Large companies with substantial computing resources find Wiz’s cloud security product, which provides insight into the company’s whole cloud presence, appealing. A number of prestigious companies, such as Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, Insight Partners, and Israeli venture capital firm Cyberstarts, support it.
Should the transaction go through, it would be Google’s biggest acquisition to date. Additionally, it would emphasize a strong and ongoing wager on cybersecurity in a period when nation-states and criminal actors are able to cause major disruptions to large enterprises and governments. Google has a history of making significant cyber purchases. Two years ago, the company paid $5.4 billion to acquire the cybersecurity firm Mandiant.
However, the business is currently under unprecedented antitrust scrutiny. Google has been sued twice by the Justice Department for antitrust violations. The most recent lawsuit, which was filed in 2023, focused on the company’s acquisition strategies.
Despite competitive worries, it appears that the corporation has rekindled its interest in mergers and acquisitions based on its reported discussions with Wiz. Google had been in negotiations to buy Hubspot, a provider of sales software.