Assaf Rappaport CEO and Co Founder Wiz (Company Photo)
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has reentered negotiations and is reportedly in advanced discussions to acquire Israeli cybersecurity startup and a unicorn Wiz for $30 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. The report, published yesterday, indicates that the deal is close to completion, barring any last-minute obstacles.
If finalized, this acquisition would mark one of the largest cybersecurity deals in history, strengthening Alphabet’s position in cloud security. Wiz, a fast-growing cloud security firm, has gained significant traction in recent years by helping businesses detect and mitigate cyber threats.
Last July, Wiz rejected a whopping $23 billion buy-out offer from Google, which, if the deal had gone through, would have been the largest exit in Israel’s history. After a week of buzz and widespread reporting on the rumored deal, Wiz said it decided to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) rather than accept Google’s bid which was almost double the company’s most recent valuation of $23 billion.
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“While we are flattered by offers we have received, we have chosen to continue on our path to building Wiz,” the company’s CEO Assaf Rappaport wrote to employees at the time in explanation of the decision to reject that offer. “Let me cut to the chase: our next milestones are $1 billion in ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) and an IPO. Saying no to such humbling offers is tough, but with our exceptional team, I feel confident in making that choice.”
Wiz was founded in March 2020 by the team that led Microsoft’s Cloud Security Group and built the security stack in Azure. CEO Assaf Rappaport, CTO Ami Luttwak, VP Product Yinon Costica, and VP R&D Roy Reznik, have worked together for more than 15 years and previously founded Adallom (acquired by Microsoft for $320 million), which is now the #1 Cloud Access Security Broker in the market.
Wiz became a super unicorn and the world’s biggest cybersecurity startup when it hit a $10 billion valuation in May. The valuation came with a $300 million raise in a Series D funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and existing investors Greenoaks Capital Partners and Index Ventures. Wiz also became the fastest SaaS company to achieve a $10 billion valuation.
