Google acquires Wiz for $32 billion, the largest purchase in its history

In a landmark transaction, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, acquired Israeli cybersecurity giant Wiz for $32 billion.

The purchase comes eight months after negotiations began between the two parties, Israeli news portal Ynet reported.

It is the largest purchase in Alphabet-Google history and the most expensive acquisition of an Israeli company ever.

Previously, Google's largest purchase had been Motorola in 2011, when the multinational tech company shelled out $12.5 billion.

As for Israeli companies, the largest purchase of a company from that country occurred in 2017, when Intel acquired Mobileye for $15 billion, reported Ynet.

What is Wiz?

Founded in 2020 by former Microsoft executives, Wiz has become one of the most influential companies in cloud cybersecurity. Its technology enables organizations to detect and fix vulnerabilities in their applications and servers, offering protection against threats in environments such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure.

Its flagship product, CSPM (Cloud Security Posture Management), helps companies identify security breaches before they can be exploited by attackers.

The company's founders, Assaf Rappaport (CEO), Yinon Costica (VP of product), Ami Luttwak (VP of technology) and Roi Reznik (VP of research and development), get between $2 billion and $3 billion each for the buyout.

Trump administration was a key factor in the completion of the deal

The company's founders finally decided to sell the company after several months of negotiations due to Alphabet-Google increasing the offer by US$10 billion and the change of government in the United States, since the Trump Administration generates expectations of faster regulatory approval in contrast to the obstacles imposed during Joe Biden's mandate.

In addition, under the deal, Wiz will continue to operate as an independent division, its headquarters will remain in Israel, Rappaport will retain his CEO position for at least three years and the company will be able to continue offering services to direct competitors of Google.