According to a Sunday report by The Wall Street Journal, Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc. is in advanced talks with cybersecurity startup Wiz, with the expected acquisition amounting to around $23 billion. If the deal goes through, it would be the company’s largest acquisition ever.
The news comes just days after reports that Alphabet decided against acquiring HubSpot, which has a market value exceeding $24 billion. It is reported that antitrust scrutiny played a role in Alphabet’s decision to walk away from the HubSpot deal.
Wiz, founded by CEO Assaf Rappaport in 2020, achieved an annual recurring revenue of $350 million in 2023, while during its first 18 months of operation, its revenue was only $100 million.
Earlier this year, the company raised $1 billion at a valuation of $12 billion, indicating that the current acquisition valuation has nearly doubled. Wiz is backed by venture capitalists including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Wiz is one of the few startups in 2024 to secure higher valuation funding outside the AI sector. Many startups are struggling in the aftermath of the tech boom spurred by a low-interest-rate environment.
If the deal is completed, it would be nearly double Google’s largest transaction to date, the $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility in 2012. Its second-largest acquisition so far has been the $5.4 billion purchase of another security firm, Mandiant.
Analysts at Wedbush commented on the potential deal, stating that it would serve as a “stern warning” to Microsoft and Amazon.
