Wiz, the cybersecurity startup has rejected a $23 billion acquisition offer from Alphabet, the parent company of Google. Although the offer represented a substantial premium over its latest private valuation of $12 billion, Wiz’s leadership team, backed by its investors, chose to remain independent.
Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport sent an email to Wiz’s 1,200 employees around the world, writing that: “Saying no to such flattering offers is hard, but with our exceptional team, I feel confident in this choice“.
Here is an excerpt of the email Rappaport sent to employees:
“Wizards,
I know last week was intense, with all the buzz around a possible acquisition. While we are flattered by the offers we received, we chose to keep going on our path to build Wiz.
Let me get straight to the point: our next milestones are $1 billion in ARR and an IPO. Saying no to such flattering offers is hard, but with our exceptional team, I feel confident in this choice.
The market validation we’ve seen following this news only reinforces our goal: to build a platform that security and development teams love.
We are grateful for the faith our employees, investors, and customers have in us as we build the best cybersecurity company in the world.
Thank you for your hard work and focus over these days, which helped us stay on track and finish the quarter stronger than ever.
As we always say: LFG.
Assaf”
Wiz was founded in 2020 by four former Israeli military officers who had previously co-founded a cloud security company called Adallom, which Microsoft later acquired for $320 million. Each of them, including Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Roy Reznik, and Ami Luttwak, owns 9% of Wiz.
Wiz Heads for an IPO After Google Buyout Falls Through
Wiz, the Israeli cybersecurity startup, announced today its intention to continue developing as an independent company and to focus on an initial public offering in the coming months. This decision follows the collapse of buyout negotiations with the American giant Google, which had offered $23 billion to acquire the company.
“We are convinced that Wiz is well positioned to keep growing and innovating as an independent company,” said Amit Rapaport, CEO of Wiz. “We have a talented and experienced team, cutting-edge technology, and a growing market. An IPO will allow us to raise the capital needed to pursue our global expansion and fully realize our potential.”
The failed Google buyout could be seen as a sign of Wiz’s confidence in its own prospects. The startup has experienced explosive growth in recent years, with annual revenue multiplied by five in 2023. Wiz now counts among the leaders of the cloud cybersecurity market, with a customer base that includes Fortune 500 companies.
Wiz’s IPO is eagerly awaited by investors, who see in the company significant growth potential. The startup has already raised more than $1 billion in equity from leading investors, such as Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, and Accel Partners.
It remains to be seen what valuation Wiz will be able to obtain in its IPO. Analysts estimate that the company could be valued between $10 and $20 billion, which would make it one of the largest IPOs of an Israeli company.
Wiz’s IPO will be a major event for the cybersecurity market. It could also have a significant impact on the Israeli economy, which already has a large number of promising startups in cutting-edge technology fields.
