Wiz’s decision to walk away from Google’s proposed $23 billion acquisition could have significant repercussions for the tech industry, particularly for Microsoft.
Wiz, an Israeli cybersecurity startup, opted not to accept Google’s offer, according to CEO Assaf Rappaport, who stated that the move was made to focus on achieving an annual revenue of $1 billion and preparing for an initial public offering. This decision comes shortly after a major outage in the cybersecurity sector caused by CrowdStrike, a leading company in the field.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives noted that both investor apprehensions and antitrust issues played a role in the collapse of the deal. Google has been under intense antitrust scrutiny and recently concluded a trial regarding one of two significant cases brought by the Department of Justice.
Ives commented that the impact of this deal falling through will be felt across the industry. He anticipated that Google would continue to strengthen its cybersecurity operations despite the setback with Wiz, and he predicted that Microsoft could also look to enhance its own cybersecurity platform in the next 12 to 18 months.
The dynamics shifted for Microsoft following the recent CrowdStrike outage, which affected users globally and disrupted numerous services. Although Ives referred to CrowdStrike as the “gold standard” in cybersecurity, the incident highlights the urgent need for Microsoft to bolster its cybersecurity capabilities, creating further opportunities as Google’s acquisition plans have unraveled.