Google makes its biggest-ever acquisition

Google announced a deal Tuesday to buy rapidly growing cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion. It will be the tech giant’s biggest-ever acquisition.

Google announced a deal Tuesday to buy rapidly growing cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion. It will be the tech giant’s biggest-ever acquisition. The all-cash takeover of privately held Wiz represents a big bet by Google on cloud security and cybersecurity in this period of explosive growth for artificial intelligence. The Wiz deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, easily surpasses Google’s previously biggest takeover: An ill-fated 2012 deal to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. Google would later unload Motorola for a big loss. Wiz, which makes cybersecurity software for cloud computing, was in talks last summer to sell itself to Google for about a $23 billion, sources previously told CNN. But the two sides failed to reach a deal and Wiz said it would instead focus on an initial public offering. New York-based Wiz has enjoyed explosive growth since launching just five years ago. It was founded by Assaf Rappaport, Ami Luttwak, Yinon Costica and Roy Reznik, who met years ago when they were drafted into Unit 8200, the cyber intelligence division of the Israel Defense Forces. “Wiz has achieved so much in a relatively short period, but cybersecurity moves at warp speed and so must we. The time is now,” Rappaport said in a Wiz blog post.