Startup News: Google’s Alphabet to buy Wiz, for the second time
It was going to happen last summer. Then it didn’t. Now it appears to be happening this time. Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL) is buying cybersecurity software firm Wiz in a deal costing the software tech and advertising company upwards of $32 billion.1 The acquisition closes one of the largest deals for Alphabet, much higher than its initial proposal of $23 billion in July of 2024, which was not completed.
The high-profile merger signals Google’s interest in building Wiz’s cloud security and vulnerability detection systems onto its suite of products.
Wiz’s rise to a multi-billion-dollar company
Founded in 2020 by Assaf Rappaport, Ami Luttwak, Yinon Costica and Roy Reznik, New York City-based Wiz was created with the goal of filling a hole in the cloud security market. Within its first two years of operations, the startup achieved $300 million in annual recurring revenue.2
Since its beginnings, Wiz’s partnerships have grown to include more than 50% of Fortune 100 companies according to its website. In early 2023, the firm closed a funding round that placed its post-money valuation at nearly $10 billion. Then in May 2024, Wiz closed its Series F round at a $12.5 billion post-money valuation. That same year, the company opened its European headquarters in London, with aspirations to expand into Europe, the Middle East and Africa.3
Today, the cloud security firm claims 5 million cloud workloads are protected and 240 billion files scanned daily around the world.4
Google to use Wiz’s infrastructure
Google now inherits Wiz’s cloud security business which provides services for such notable companies as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud platforms. Google plans to utilize the new technology to become a leader in scalable end-to-end security platforms for all customers and partners of all sectors and sizes around the world.5
Wiz’s latest price per share was $21.52 as of the firm’s funding round in May of 2024.
More cybersecurity companies listed on Forge Global
- Netskope is a provider of network security solutions designed to help organizations protect their data. Netskope’s Forge Price™ is $11.96 as of March 19, 2025, which implies a valuation of $4.49 billion.
- Tanium is a cybersecurity and systems management company developing tools for enterprises to secure, control and manage its technology infrastructure. Tanium’s Forge Price™ is $5.37 as of March 19, 2025, which implies a $4.21 billion valuation.
- Artic Wolf is a technology company that helps clients end cyber risk by providing security operations such as monitoring, detecting and responding to cyber threats. Arctic Wolf’s Forge Price™ is 8.00 as of March 19, 2025, which implies a $4.21 billion valuation.
- Vetra AI is a cloud protection platform that leverages security-led AI threat detection software across an organization’s cloud services. Vectra AI’s Forge Price™ is $5.32 as of March 19, 2025, which implies an $839 million valuation.
