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Google appears to be making a move to bolster its cybersecurity offerings, but the tech giant may have antitrust hurdles if it attempts to make this deal with Wiz.
Tech giant Google is eyeing up cybersecurity start-up Wiz, in a move that could lead to its biggest acquisition ever.
The companies are in advanced talks about a potential acquisition that would be worth roughly $23bn, according to sources familiar with the matter speaking to the Wall Street Journal.
One source told Reuters that the deal would be mostly funded in cash and that it appears it could come together soon. Neither Google nor Wiz responded to requests for comment from Reuters.
Wiz is an Israeli-founded company that provides cloud cybersecurity services for its customers. The New York-headquartered start-up was founded in 2020 and has grown rapidly, with claims that 40pc of Fortune 100 companies are its customers.
The company has also rapidly grown in notoriety, being listed in 15th place on the 2023 Forbes Cloud 100 list.
Wiz says it protects 5m cloud workloads and that it is backed by various high-profile investors such as Blackstone, Sequoia, Salesforce Ventures and Lightspeed. The start-up has offices across the US and in Tel Aviv.
If the deal goes ahead, Google could gain an edge in the constantly growing cybersecurity market, which remains an important area given the looming threat of cyberattacks for companies of all sizes. In 2022, Google acquired Israel cybersecurity start-up Siemplify to bolster its cloud security team.
But the tech giant could face issues from antitrust regulators, as both the US and EU have been taking a greater focus on competition risks from large acquisitions. Google is currently under threat from a massive antitrust investigation in the US, as the country’s Department of Justice claims Google has actively worked to maintain a monopoly when it comes to search engines and online advertising.
The judge for this case heard the final arguments from both the department and Google in May and is expected to take several months to reach a final decision, AP reported.
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