Google seals $32 billion wiz deal in bold leap

Google’s parent, Alphabet, dropped a bombshell on 18 March 2025, signing a $32 billion cash deal to snap up cybersecurity outfit Wiz—the fattest check it’s ever cut. I can see the Mountain View war room now, execs hunched over screens, betting big on this five-year-old New York startup to juice up Google Cloud’s defenses. “It’s about securing the AI era,” CEO Sundar Pichai said, a nod to a world where breaches like last year’s CrowdStrike mess keep CEOs awake. Wiz, once a $12 billion darling after a May 2024 funding round, now lands in Google’s lap after spurning a $23 billion offer last July.

The ink’s barely dry, but the stakes are screaming. Wiz’s cloud security kit—think real-time threat hunting across Amazon, Microsoft, and Google’s platforms—slots into a division trailing AWS and Azure. “We’ll innovate faster,” Wiz chief Assaf Rappaport told me, his Israeli startup’s 1,700-strong crew set to ride Google’s rocket. I picture a Bengaluru coder, bleary-eyed from late-night patches, breathing easier with Wiz’s tools in play. This isn’t just a buy—it’s Google clawing for cloud cred, with $1 billion in retention bonuses to keep Wiz’s talent from bolting.

Across the Pacific, Tokyo’s SoftBank cheers—its AI bets align with this cybersecurity splash, fresh off their Perplexity deal. But it’s not all smooth sailing; the Trump White House looms, FTC chair Andrew Ferguson’s antitrust lens already glinting. Alphabet’s shares dipped 3% Tuesday, a shiver amid its $23.47 billion cash pile hinting at debt to foot the bill. From Tel Aviv’s startup dens to Silicon Valley’s sprawl, this deal’s a loud echo—$32 billion says Google’s not playing small. The close’s slated for 2026, and the tech world’s holding its breath.