Google bought Wiz for $32 billion — the largest venture-backed acquisition in history

Google has completed the acquisition of cybersecurity startup Wiz for $32 billion — the largest deal in venture capital history. A year ago, the company had already offered to buy Wiz but was rejected. Now the deal is closed: after antitrust reviews on both sides of the Atlantic, Google obtained an asset that investors call the most precisely positioned for the next wave of technological growth.

The startup was founded in 2020 by former members of the Microsoft Azure Security team. In four years, Wiz grew into one of the most expensive private technology companies in the world. The product — a platform for protecting cloud infrastructure — proved in demand precisely when corporations are massively moving data to the cloud and simultaneously deploying AI systems with access to critical resources.

Shardool Shah, a partner at Index Ventures and one of Wiz's early investors, explained the deal's value concisely: the startup stands at the intersection of three powerful waves — growing AI spending, cloud migration, and tightening cybersecurity requirements. Each of these trends alone creates a giant market. Together they form a rare point of concentration of corporate demand and venture capital.

The sum of $32 billion exceeds the previous venture capital market record — Microsoft's acquisition of LinkedIn in 2016 for $26 billion. Wiz investors — Sequoia, Index Ventures, Insight Partners, and other funds — will receive record returns. The 2024 rejection adds special weight to the deal: Google had then offered around $23 billion, and the founders refused.

In the end, they got significantly more — and this precedent of negotiating power in the industry will be discussed for a long time. For Google, the deal solves several strategic tasks at once. Google Cloud lags AWS and Azure in market share, and one reason is a less developed security ecosystem.

Wiz fills this gap. Moreover, with the expansion of AI infrastructure, protecting cloud environments becomes a priority for large corporate clients. Acquiring Wiz is simultaneously a product strengthening and a marketing argument for corporate sales.

Antitrust regulators in the US and EU approved the deal, although the process took several months. During a period of active pressure on large technology companies, this is itself indicative: Google obtained approval for one of the largest acquisitions in industry history. The deal sets a new benchmark for the venture capital market.

Cybersecurity confirms its status as one of the hottest sectors — especially in combination with cloud and AI. Technology giants demonstrate readiness to pay premium prices for companies that fill strategic gaps, rather than simply adding functionality. For founders and investors, this is a clear signal: a correctly positioned startup in the right sector can be worth significantly more than seemed a year ago.