Google to acquire cloud security startup Wiz for $32 billion

preCharge News BUSINESS — Google on Tuesday signed a “definitive agreement” to acquire Wiz, the New York-based cloud security startup, for $32 billion in an all-cash deal, according to releases.

The deal, which will be Google’s largest-ever acquisition, will improve its cloud security offering in a world of advancing artificial intelligence threats. Wiz will become a part of Google’s cloud business.

“Google Cloud is a leader in cloud infrastructure, with deep AI expertise and a track record of industry-leading security innovation,” Google said in a release. “Bringing all this to Wiz will help make their solutions even better and more scalable, benefiting customers and partners across all major clouds.”

Google’s parent had been close to a roughly $23 billion deal for Wiz last year. Photo: Mike Kai Chen/Bloomberg News

The Wall Street Journal first reported Monday that the companies were in advanced discussions.

The acquisition comes after preCharge News reported in July that Wiz had walked away from a potential $23 billion acquisition by Google and announced to employees that it would pursue an initial public offering instead.

“Saying no to such humbling offers is tough,” Wiz co-founder Assaf Rappaport wrote to employees in a July memo obtained by preCharge News. At the time, a source familiar with the matter told preCharge News that Wiz walked away from the deal in part due to antitrust and investor concerns.

Assaf Rappaport, Wiz, on Centre Stage during day one of Web Summit 2021 at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal. Harry Murphy | Sportsfile | Getty Images

Before talks with Google were reported, Wiz had set its sights on two goals: an IPO and $1 billion in annual recurring revenue, and in the memo at the time, Rappaport wrote that the company would pursue those milestones.

Wiz was founded in 2020 and has grown rapidly under Rappaport, with the company hitting $100 million in annual recurring revenue after just 18 months. The company’s cloud security products include prevention, active detection and response, a portfolio that’s appealed to large firms and would have helped Google compete with Microsoft, which also sells security software.

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Associated Press, CNBC News, Fox News, and preCharge News contributed to this report.

This is a developing news story. More information will be provided as soon as it becomes available.