Sundar
Pichai,
CEO
of
Alphabet
Inc.,
during
Stanford’s
2024
Business,
Government,
and
Society
forum
in
Stanford,
California,
April
3,
2024.
Justin
Sullivan
|
Getty
Images
Google
is
in
advanced
talks
to
acquire
cybersecurity
firm
Wiz
for
$23
billion,
The
Wall
Street
Journal
reported
Sunday,
citing
people
familiar
with
the
matter.
The
people
familiar
told
the
Journal
that
a
deal
could
come
soon.
Wiz
was
founded
in
2020,
and
has
grown
at
a
rapid
clip
under
CEO
Assaf
Rappaport.
It
had
been
eyeing
an
IPO
as
recently
as
May,
when
the
company
achieved
a
valuation
of
$12
billion.
A
representative
for
Wiz
declined
to
comment.
Wiz’s
cloud
security
offering
gives
executives
and
cybersecurity
professionals
insight
into
the
company’s
full
cloud
presence,
something
appealing
to
large
firms
with
significant
computing
resources.
It
is
backed
by
a
roster
of
blue
chip
firms,
including
Israeli
VC
firm
Cyberstarts,
Index
Ventures,
Insight
Partners
and
Sequoia
Capital.
If
completed,
the
deal
would
be
Google’s
largest
ever
acquisition.
It
would
also
underline
a
clear
and
continued
bet
on
cybersecurity,
at
a
time
when
nation
state
and
criminal
actors
have
managed
to
disrupt
governments
and
large
organizations.
Google
has
made
large
cyber
acquisitions
before:
The
company
acquired
cybersecurity
firm
Mandiant
for
$5.4
billion
two
years
ago.
But
the
company
now
faces
unprecedented
levels
of
antitrust
scrutiny.
The
Justice
Department
has
sued
Google
twice
on
antitrust
grounds.
The
company’s
acquisition
practices
were
highlighted
in
the
most
recent
litigation,
filed
in
2023.
But
its
reported
talks
with
Wiz
would
suggest
that
the
company
has
developed
a
fresh
appetite
for
M&A,
competitive
concerns
notwithstanding.
Google
had
been
in
talks
to
acquire
sales
software
maker
Hubspot,
CNBC
previously
reported,
but
its
pursuit
had
reportedly
cooled.
Google
did
not
immediately
return
a
request
for
comment.
