Alphabet is in talks to buy cloud security company Wiz for $33 billion, restarting negotiations that were cancelled in 2024 after long discussions, as per media sources.
The deal, which could be announced soon, would be Alphabet’s biggest purchase ever. It could help Google compete with Microsoft and Amazon in the cloud computing market. Google’s cloud business has recently become profitable after years of losses, though its sales growth has slowed.
The terms of the deal are not final and could still change, or the talks could fall through. A Wiz representative declined to comment, and Alphabet has not responded to requests for comment.
For Wiz, these discussions mark a shift in stance after rejecting Alphabet’s $23 billion offer last July. The company had planned to stay independent and eventually go public. Wiz and its investors were concerned that a sale might face long regulatory approval processes, as US and European authorities closely watched the tech industry’s influence and market power.
Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport called Alphabet’s earlier bid “humbling” and had expressed interest in growing Wiz into a major independent cybersecurity company, competing with firms like CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks.
Although the current US administration under President Trump is expected to be more open to big deals, Alphabet’s offer could still face scrutiny from antitrust regulators. Google is already dealing with multiple legal challenges, including accusations from the Department of Justice that it holds an illegal monopoly in online search. It is also facing another antitrust case related to its digital advertising tools.
However, since Google’s cloud business ranks third behind Microsoft and Amazon, it may argue that this deal does not threaten competition in the cloud market.
Founded by Israelis and based in New York, Wiz is backed by investors such as Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, Insight Partners, and Cyberstarts. In a funding round last year, the company was valued at $12 billion. Wiz has also launched a data centre in Mumbai, India in October 2023, enabling regional customers to benefit from Wiz’s cloud security platform and maintain data locality.
