Wiz is considering a sale of existing shares, with a valuation estimated between $15bn and $20bn, according to a report from Bloomberg News. The cybersecurity startup is reportedly in discussions for a transaction that would allow current shareholders to sell between $500m and $700m of their stakes. The report, citing individuals familiar with the matter, also mentioned that venture firms such as G Squared, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Thrive Capital are involved in the potential deal.
Earlier this year, in July, Wiz ended discussions with Alphabet, the parent company of Google, over a proposed $23bn acquisition. The valuation offered by Alphabet nearly doubled the $12bn valuation Wiz received in May when it raised $1bn through a private funding round.
Wiz denies Google takeover opportunity
Alphabet’s interest in Wiz was believed to be part of an effort to strengthen the cloud security capabilities of its Google Cloud division. Despite generating $33bn in revenue last year, Google Cloud remains behind competitors Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) in terms of global market share.
However, the talks between Wiz and Alphabet reportedly broke down over pricing concerns. Although the $12bn valuation from the May funding round was significantly lower than the $23bn deal being discussed with Alphabet, Wiz’s chief executive, Assaf Rappaport, indicated that the cybersecurity company would shift its focus towards preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) and aim to achieve recurring annual revenues of up to $1bn.
Wiz, which is headquartered in New York City and employs approximately 950 people, claims to protect up to five million cloud workloads. About 40% of these workloads belong to Fortune 100 companies, including Siemens, BMW, and Slack.
Founded in 2020 by former members of Israel’s cyber intelligence unit, Wiz experienced rapid growth during the pandemic, as companies sought to secure their cloud infrastructure in response to the widespread shift to remote work.
In August, Wiz obtained FedRAMP Moderate authorisation in the US for its Wiz for Government cloud security solution. FedRAMP is a government-wide programme that standardises security protocols for cloud services, allowing US government agencies to adopt cloud technologies with a common security framework. This authorisation will enable Wiz to further support critical government operations in the cloud, ensuring a higher level of confidence in the security of their missions.
Read more: Foreign threat actors struggle to use generative AI in cyberattacks, claim US officials
