Wiz’s decision to decline Google’s acquisition offer could significantly affect the tech industry, particularly Microsoft. Google had aimed to acquire the Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz for $23 billion, but Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport announced on Tuesday that the company rejected the offer. Rappaport stated that this difficult choice was made in order to focus on achieving $1 billion in annual revenue and pursue an initial public offering.
Had the acquisition gone through, it would have strengthened Google’s cybersecurity division, especially after a recent major outage linked to cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. Analyst Dan Ives from Wedbush noted that investor apprehensions and ongoing antitrust investigations contributed to the deal’s collapse. Google has faced considerable antitrust scrutiny lately, concluding a trial related to one of two significant cases from the Department of Justice.
Ives highlighted that the lack of this acquisition could create ripple effects across the industry. He anticipates that Google will continue to expand its cybersecurity capabilities despite missing out on the Wiz deal. Similarly, Ives believes that Microsoft may intensify efforts to enhance its own cybersecurity platform within the next year to year and a half.
The recent global IT outage, attributed to a problematic update from CrowdStrike used in Microsoft’s cybersecurity software, has put Microsoft in a challenging position. Users worldwide experienced significant disruptions, including the well-known “blue screens of death.” Although Ives maintains that CrowdStrike remains a top provider in cybersecurity, this outage could serve as a reminder for Microsoft to strengthen its cybersecurity offerings, particularly now that the opportunity presented by the Wiz deal has passed.