Google makes its biggest acquisition ever

(CLO) Google announced a deal to acquire cybersecurity company Wiz for $32 billion on March 18, marking the tech giant's largest acquisition ever.

If approved, the deal would help Google strengthen its position in cloud security and cybersecurity, especially in the context of explosive growth in artificial intelligence (AI).

At $32 billion, the Wiz deal easily surpasses Google's previous largest acquisition: the $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility in 2012. However, the Motorola deal was considered a failure as Google later had to sell it at a huge loss.

Illustration: Unsplash

Wiz, a provider of cybersecurity software for cloud computing, was in talks with Google last summer to sell itself for about $23 billion. The two sides failed to reach an agreement at the time, and Wiz said it would focus on its initial public offering (IPO).

The New York-based company has seen incredible growth in just five years since its launch. Wiz was founded by Assaf Rappaport, Ami Luttwak, Yinon Costica and Roy Reznik – all former members of Unit 8200, the Israeli Defense Forces’ cyber intelligence arm.

“We’ve achieved a lot in a short period of time, but the cybersecurity industry is evolving at a rapid pace and we must adapt. It’s time,” Rappaport wrote in a Wiz blog post.

At $32 billion, the Google-Wiz deal is one of the seven largest acquisitions in history for a private US company, according to data from Dealogic.

Ngoc Anh (according to Google, CNN, Variety)