Google to Acquire Wiz for $32 Billion

Google announced it would acquire security firm Wiz for $32 billion in cash. If approved by regulators, it will be its biggest acquisition yet, outstripping its $12.5 billion Motorola Mobility acquisition from 2012.

“Google LLC today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Wiz, Inc., a leading cloud security platform headquartered in New York, for $32 billion, subject to closing adjustments, in an all-cash transaction,” the Google announcement explains. “Once closed, Wiz will join Google Cloud. This acquisition represents an investment by Google Cloud to accelerate two large and growing trends in the AI era: improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds (multi-cloud).”

“Wiz and Google Cloud are both fueled by the belief that cloud security needs to be easier, more accessible, more intelligent, and democratized, so more organizations can adopt and use cloud and AI securely,” Wiz co-founder Assaf Rappaport writes separately. “We both also believe Wiz needs to remain a multi-cloud platform, so that across any cloud, we will continue to be a leading platform. We will still work closely with our great partners at AWS, Azure, Oracle, and across the entire industry.”

Google had attempted to acquire Wiz at a lower valuation of $23 billion last year, but that deal feel through over regulatory concerns. This deal will still face regulatory scrutiny, but the current U.S. political climate, despite its tough stance on Big Tech, should prove more amenable to this type of deal, Plus, both companies are clearly pushing the multi-cloud aspect of the deal and their intention continue using Wiz across competitor’s product lines.

“Wiz’s products will continue to work and be available across all major clouds, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud platforms, and will be offered to customers through an array of partner security solutions,” Google notes. “Google Cloud will also continue to offer customers wide choice through a variety of partner security solutions available in the Google Cloud Marketplace.”

You can learn more about Wiz and how Google Cloud intends to integrate its technology on the Google Cloud blog.