Google to Acquire Wiz for $32 Billion to Boost Cybersecurity Capabilities This is the largest acquisition by Google in its history. Earlier in 2022, it acquired another cybersecurity firm – Mandiant – for USD 5.4 billion and merged it with Google Cloud.

In a bid to strengthen its cybersecurity capabilities, Google's parent Alphabet on Tuesday signed a definitive agreement to acquire Wiz, Inc., a leading cloud security platform headquartered in New York, for USD 32 billion in an all-cash transaction.

Wiz is among the fastest-growing cybersecurity startups clocking USD 500 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in 2024.

This is the largest acquisition by Google in its history and once the deal is closed, Wiz will join Google Cloud. In 2022, Google acquired another cybersecurity firm – Mandiant – for USD 5.4 billion and merged it with Google Cloud.

The acquisition of Wiz represents an investment by Google Cloud to accelerate two large and growing trends in the artificial intelligence (AI) era: improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds (multi-cloud).

"From its earliest days, Google's strong security focus has made us a leader in keeping people safe online. Today, businesses and governments that run in the cloud are looking for even stronger security solutions, and greater choice in cloud computing providers. Together, Google Cloud and Wiz will turbocharge improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds," said Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google.

Both cybersecurity and cloud computing are rapidly growing industries with a vast range of solutions. The increased role of AI, and adoption of cloud services, have dramatically changed the security landscape for customers, making cybersecurity increasingly important in defending against emergent risks and protecting national security.

Wiz claims to deliver an "easy-to-use" security platform that connects to all major clouds and code environments to help prevent cybersecurity incidents. In the last 12 months, Wiz has delivered new products and categories of cybersecurity solutions that have shown strong adoption.

Analysts believe the acquisition is a calculated move meant to control the cloud security business. "Through including Wiz's agentless, AI-powered security into Google Cloud, Google is establishing itself as a leader in autonomous cybersecurity, multi-cloud security, and AI-driven threat detection. Regulatory review is unavoidable, though. Given Google's scale and power, antitrust officials might closely review this agreement, particularly in light of rivalry with AWS, Microsoft, and cybersecurity companies like Palo Alto Networks," said Sanchit Vir Gogia, Founder and Chief Analyst, Greyhound Research.

"However, if done right, this purchase might transform cloud security, increasing its automation, artificial intelligence drive, accessibility throughout several cloud providers.
For businesses, this means better protection with less operational load—a benefit in the high-risk cyber scene of today," added Gogia.

Experts have also indicated that despite significant investments in cybersecurity technologies and talent over the years, most organizations worldwide struggle to build a robust security posture.

"A key reason for this, in many cases, is the inability to identify and leverage early warning signals for preventing cyber-attacks. Google's acquisition of Wiz enhances its 'detect and respond' suite of services with solutions that can help customers prevent attacks. Further, the ability to connect to all major cloud and code environments, as well as leverage AI agents for strengthening enterprise-defenses, would give a fillip to Google's security-by-design proposition in the marketplace," said Nitin Bhatt, Technology Sector Leader, EY.

According to Charlie Winckless, VP Analyst at Gartner, "Google has been expanding its presence as a security provider for some time. They have had internal security features in Google Cloud (as do all the cloud providers in their own clouds) but have also had external services. Most notably they offer Google SecOps (formerly Chronicle), Google Mandiant Cyber Defense (acquired in 2022), and in 2024 expanded their GCP-focused Google Security Command Center Enterprise to provide support for AWS (and limited support in Azure). The acquisition gives Google better coverage and a much more significant market presence in a rapidly growing market. It grants them an advantage in the cloud security space over Microsoft, who offers Microsoft Defender for Cloud/Microsoft Defender CSPM, and it significantly extends Google's reach and customers in the space."

The combination of Google Cloud and Wiz is expected to:

• Vastly improve how security is designed, operated and automated — providing an end-to-end security platform for customers, of all types and sizes, in the AI era;
• Scale cybersecurity teams by providing them an automated security platform;
• Lower customers' cost of implementing and managing security controls;
• Protect against new threats emerging due to the advancement of AI, prevent breaches, and help organizations respond to breaches much more efficiently; and
• Boost the adoption of multi-cloud security and, as a result, customers' ability to use multiple clouds, further spurring innovation in and the adoption of cloud computing.