NEW YORK (AP) — Google will buy cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion to boost the tech giant’s in-house cloud computing amid burgeoning artificial intelligence growth.
The all-cash acquisition announced Tuesday would be Google’s biggest in its 26-year history, and it is the biggest deal of 2025.
Wiz will join Google Cloud, boosting Google's in-house cloud security in the era of AI, the companies said.
“Wiz and Google Cloud are both fueled by the belief that cloud security needs to be easier, more accessible, more intelligent, and democratized, so more organizations can adopt and use cloud and AI securely,” Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport said in a blog post.
Together, Google CEO Sundar Pichai added in a statement, Google Cloud and Wiz “will turbocharge improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds.”
Wiz, based in New York, was founded in 2020 and makes security tools designed to protect information stored in remote data centers.
Google has had its eyes on Wiz for some time. The sale price announced this week is much more rich than the reported $23 billion buyout that Wiz rejected last July — opting to instead pivot back to a previously-planned initial public offering. But on Tuesday, Rappaport said that the company expects to “innovate even faster” by becoming a part of Google.
Wedbush analysts called Google's move to buy Wiz “a shot across the bow” at other tech giants, particularly Microsoft and Amazon, who have bet big on cyber security. Google appeared to fall behind in the cloud arms race, the analysts wrote Tuesday, but the Wiz deal would “clearly bolster” its offerings.
The proposed buyout will get a close look from antitrust regulators. While many expect the Trump administration to be more friendly to business deals, it has also shown itself to be leery of big tech.
The new Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson has vowed to maintain a tough review process for mergers and acquisitions.
The $32 billion acquisition announced Tuesday raises antitrust concerns due to the potential impact on standalone cyber security vendors, as well as potential disruption for bigger rivals. Still, Wedbush's analysts note the industry is “ripe for consolidation” — which could pose "massive growth opportunities on the horizon heading into this AI Revolution.”
Wiz and Google say that Wiz's products will continue to work across all major clouds — including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud, as well as through other security partners.
Subject to the regulatory greenlight and other closing conditions, Google and Wiz expect the deal to close in 2026.
Shares for Google owner Alphabet fell nearly 5% Tuesday morning.
Associated Press, The Associated Press
