In its biggest acquisition to date, Google formally pays $32 billion to acquire Wiz.
Apple has reached an agreement to acquire cloud-based cybersecurity company Wiz for $32 billion in cash. This marks the largest acquisition in its history, resuming a deal it unsuccessfully attempted last summer when Wiz shareholders rejected a $23 billion offer, partly due to concerns that the deal would fall through due to regulatory issues. The acquisition must be approved by regulatory authorities. If it fails to secure the necessary permits, Google agrees to pay Wiz $3.2 billion.
"This acquisition represents an investment by Google Cloud to accelerate two key growing trends in the era of artificial intelligence: improved cloud security and the ability to leverage multiple clouds," Google said in a statement. The deal could help Google gain ground against Microsoft and Amazon in the competitive cloud computing market. Google's cloud computing business has been profitable in recent quarters after years of losses, though its growth has slowed.
Wiz is headquartered in New York, but the bulk of its technology operations are based in Israel. The company was founded in January 2020 by Assaf Rappaport, Winon Kostika, Roy Resnick, and Amy Luttwak, who previously founded Adalom. Assaf Rappaport is CEO, Kostika is VP of Product, Resnick is VP of Engineering, and Luttwak is CTO.
The company's platform analyzes computing infrastructure hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and other cloud computing companies to detect vulnerabilities and risk factors for potential cyberattacks. Organizations of all sizes, from startups and large enterprises to governments and public sector organizations, can use Wiz to protect what they build and operate in the cloud. Wiz products will continue to operate and be available on major cloud platforms, including Alphabet's competitors AWS, Azure, and Oracle Cloud, raising questions about the future business relationship.
Cybersecurity and cloud computing are rapidly growing sectors. The increasing role of artificial intelligence and the adoption of cloud services have dramatically changed the security landscape for customers, making cybersecurity even more critical to defending against emerging threats and protecting national security.