Google has acquired Wiz, a multi-cloud security firm that will remain cloud-agnostic under its new ownership. In fact, the ability to expand its customer base to companies that use competing cloud services like AWS or Azure was a key incentive for Google to buy the five-year-old startup, whose mandate is “to help every organization secure everything they build and run in the cloud — any cloud.” Google agreed to pay $32 billion for the New York-based firm, which had annual revenue of $700 million last year and was on track to increase that to $1 billion in 2025. Wiz, which had been considering an IPO, was most recently valued at $12 billion.

The fact that the Alphabet company was willing to pay such a high premium says a lot about how badly the company wants to expand its cloud offerings, according to TechCrunch, which says “Google had to embrace the multi-cloud model” to grow its cloud business, since “many customers just don’t and won’t use Google Cloud.”

TechCrunch cites Statista figures that as of Q4 202 show Amazon’s AWS with 30 percent share of the global cloud market, Microsoft’s Azure in second place with 21 percent, and Google Cloud “trail[ing] significantly behind them at 12 percent.”

Many Wiz customers “already use a hybrid cloud arrangement, and they may not use Google Cloud at all,” TechCrunch writes. “Wiz brings a massive customer list to Google.” That’s a useful entry point to sampling Google Cloud services, but only if those clients remain onboard.

Google paid Wiz an additional $1 billion on top of the $32 billion sales price “to retain all of its talent as it transitions to Google,” TechCrunch reports. Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport and senior leadership “were calling customers in the hours leading up to the deal and after it was announced, reassuring them that it’s just business as usual.”

In a blog post, Rappaport assured customers “we will still work closely with our great partners at AWS, Azure, Oracle, and across the entire industry.”

Wiz protects everything built or running in the cloud, according to Google’s announcement, which says Wiz “delivers an easy-to-use security platform that connects to all major clouds and code environments to help prevent cybersecurity incidents,” emphasizing the increased role of AI in heightening risk.

The New York Times writes that Google “worked for months last year to forge a deal for Wiz,” which rejected a $23 billion offer from the search giant in July 2024, “saying it wanted to pursue an initial public offering.”

Completion of the all-cash purchase is still subject to regulatory approval.