Wiz

History

2024: No deal to sell company to Alphabet holding, IPO plans

On July 22, 2024, it became known that the Israeli company Wiz, specializing in information security solutions, refused to be sold to Google in a deal worth $23 billion. Instead, Wiz intends to implement an initial public offering (IPO) procedure.

Startup Wiz was founded in 2020; its headquarters are located in New York. As of February 2024, Wiz employed about 900 people. At the same time, the bulk of sales and marketing personnel is concentrated in North America and Europe, while the engineering team is based mainly in Tel Aviv. Wiz raised a total of $1.9 billion from venture capital funds and private investors. So, in May 2024, the startup received $1 billion at a valuation of $12 billion: investors were Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Thrive Capital, Greylock Partners, Wellington Management, Cyberstarts, Greenoaks, etc.

Bloomberg

Wiz creates cloud security products, in particular, tools for detecting and responding to threats. The purchase of this firm could allow Google to strengthen its position in relation to the main competitors in the cloud market - AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Microsoft. This deal was supposed to be the largest in the history of Alphabet holding (Google's parent structure). Moreover, the proposed amount could almost double the cost of the startup compared to the estimate received in May 2024. However, Wiz declined the offer.

Although we are flattered by the proposals received, we have decided to continue our own path of development, the startup said in a statement.

In addition to preparing for the IPO, Wiz intends to focus on increasing revenue. The goal is to bring the annual turnover to $1 billion against $350 million in 2023.^[1]

Notes