Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc., during the Stanford Forum on Business, Government and Society 2024 in Stanford, California, April 3, 2024.
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Google Microsoft is in advanced talks to buy cybersecurity company Wiz for $23 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.
People close to the newspaper told the newspaper that the agreement may be reached soon.
Founded in 2020, Wiz has grown rapidly under CEO Asaf Rappaport. The company was eyeing an IPO last May, when it achieved a $12 billion valuation.
A representative for Wiz declined to comment.
Wiz’s cloud security offering gives executives and cybersecurity professionals an inside look at a company’s entire cloud presence, which is attractive to large enterprises with significant computing resources. It is backed by a group of leading firms, including Israeli venture capital firm Cyberstarts, Index Ventures, Insight Partners, and Sequoia Capital.
If the deal goes through, it would be Google’s largest acquisition ever. It would also underscore the company’s clear and continuing bet on cybersecurity, at a time when nation-states and criminals have been able to disrupt governments and large organizations. Google has made big cyber acquisitions before: The company bought cybersecurity firm Mandiant for $5.4 billion two years ago.
But the company is now facing unprecedented levels of antitrust scrutiny. The Justice Department has sued Google twice on antitrust grounds, and the company’s acquisition practices were highlighted in the latest lawsuit, filed in 2023.
But reported conversations with Wiz suggest the company has developed a new appetite for mergers and acquisitions, despite competitive concerns. Google was in talks to acquire sales software company Hubspot, CNBC previously reported, but its pursuit has reportedly cooled.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
