Alphabet revives talks to buy cloud security firm Wiz in deal that could exceed $20 billion

Alphabet has restarted negotiations to acquire cloud security startup Wiz for more than $20 billion, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg on Wednesday. The talks center on folding Wiz into Google Cloud to expand threat detection and posture management for large enterprises, a priority as hyperscale rivals push deeper into security.

The move matters because Google Cloud has made security a key differentiator after buying Mandiant for $5.4 billion in 2022, and because consolidation has intensified across cloud security. Any agreement at this scale would be one of Alphabet’s largest since Motorola Mobility in 2012, and it would test antitrust tolerance for a security deal by a top three cloud provider.

Wiz, founded in 2020 by former Microsoft executives Assaf Rappaport, Ami Luttwak, Yinon Costica, and Roy Reznik, raised a $1 billion round in May 2024 at a $12 billion valuation, according to the company. As of mid 2024 the company employed more than 900 people, per LinkedIn profiles and company disclosures, and counts Fortune 500 customers across finance and retail.

Google Cloud has positioned Chronicle, Mandiant, and Security Command Center as anchors for its security platform. Synergy Research Group estimated in 2024 that Google Cloud held roughly 11 percent of the global infrastructure market, behind Amazon Web Services at about one third and Microsoft Azure in the mid 20s. Analysts say a Wiz purchase would give Google stronger coverage in cloud workload protection and configuration management against Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike.

Earlier talks between Alphabet and Wiz in 2024 ended without a deal after valuation and regulatory risk concerns, multiple outlets including The Information reported at the time. Since then, Palo Alto Networks bought Dig Security in 2023 for a reported sum near $400 million, and CrowdStrike has expanded its cloud security portfolio through acquisitions and organic releases, heightening competitive pressure in the segment.

Any agreement would face review by the Federal Trade Commission and the European Commission. Antitrust experts note that Google’s position in cloud is smaller than its share in search and ads, which could shape the analysis, but data integration and bundling questions would likely feature in any probe.

If completed, a Wiz deal would underscore the shift by hyperscalers to package infrastructure, AI, and security as a unified sell. It would also signal that security remains one of the few categories where large platforms are willing to pay a premium to compress time to market.