Google is planning its biggest startup acquisition
Google, one of the leading tech giants, is reportedly considering its most significant acquisition of a startup to date. The target of interest is Wiz, a cloud cybersecurity startup based in New York City that collaborates with industry leaders like Amazon and Oracle. According to The Wall Street Journal, Google is contemplating an investment of $23 billion, almost twice the amount it paid for Motorola Mobility in 2012.
Wiz specializes in providing "siloed security tools and scanners" designed explicitly for enterprise environments. The company offers a unique solution that secures corporate cloud infrastructure by establishing a normalizing layer between cloud environments. This enables businesses to quickly identify and mitigate critical risks, which seems strategically aimed at helping offset recent cybersecurity vulnerabilities seen in competing companies like Microsoft.
The initiative of pursuing this acquisition is attributed to Google Cloud boss, Thomas Kurian, who has been driving the company's push towards reinforcing its reputation as a secure cloud platform. This aligns with Google's previous investments in the cybersecurity space, including a $500 million purchase of a cloud security startup in 2022, as well as the $5.4 billion acquisition of Mandiant, who famously exposed the SolarWinds hack.
While the deal appears likely to materialize, there is still the potential for it to fall through, triggering reviews from US regulators. The Biden administration has shown a strong commitment to antitrust actions, with examples such as the Department of Justice's lawsuit challenging Google's Search agreement with Apple, and the Federal Trade Commission's unsuccessful attempt to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision.
Google's possible acquisition of Wiz demonstrates its ambitions to strengthen its cybersecurity capabilities and solidify its position as a trusted provider of secure cloud services. Time will reveal the outcome of these negotiations and the impact it may have on the industry as a whole.
