NAIROBI, Kenya- Google is reportedly considering a $23 billion acquisition of Wiz, a cloud cybersecurity startup with high-profile partners like Amazon and Oracle, according to The Wall Street Journal.
If finalized, this would mark Google’s largest acquisition to date, nearly double what it spent on Motorola Mobility in 2012.
Wiz, based in New York City, offers advanced security tools and scanners for the enterprise sector.
The company boasts its ability to secure corporate cloud infrastructure by creating a “normalizing layer between cloud environments,” which allows businesses to quickly identify and eliminate critical risks.
This acquisition appears to be a strategic move by Google, aimed at bolstering its cloud security capabilities and directly challenging an increasingly vulnerable Microsoft, which has recently suffered several high-profile security breaches.
Thomas Kurian, the head of Google Cloud, has been the driving force behind this acquisition attempt, as reported by The New York Times.
If successful, this purchase would reinforce Google’s reputation as a secure cloud platform, building on its previous acquisitions such as the half-billion-dollar purchase of another cloud security startup in 2022 and the $5.4 billion acquisition of Mandiant, the firm that uncovered the SolarWinds hack later that year.
While the deal appears promising, it is not without potential complications. The acquisition could trigger scrutiny from U.S. regulators, especially under the Biden administration, which has shown a keen interest in antitrust actions.
The Department of Justice is currently suing Google over its search deal with Apple, and the Federal Trade Commission recently attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision.
A successful purchase of Wiz could significantly enhance Google’s cloud security offerings and position it as a formidable competitor in the cloud services market.
