Google is in talks to make the biggest acquisition in its history, according to reports.
The US technology giant is expected to pay $23 billion (£18bn) for cyber security firm Wiz, The Wall Street Journal reported, just four years after the startup was founded.
The potential deal is nearly double the amount of Google’s biggest acquisition to date: the $12.5 billion takeover of Motorola Mobility in 2012.
Wiz provides some of the world’s biggest companies with cloud security services, including BMW, EA and Salesforce.
The US-based startup was valued at $12 billion in May in a Series E funding round that raised $1 billion from Andressen Horowitz, Thrive Capital and other venture capitalists.
Wiz became the fastest-growing software company in history in 2022, achieving an annual revenue of $100 million less than 18 months after it was founded.
“While breaking records is always nice, our revenue is simply a measure of the value we’re delivering to customers,” Wiz co-founder Assaf Rappaport wrote in a blog post at the time.
“When we first launched Wiz, we set out to design a product with the world’s leading enterprises in mind, and all the complexity and operational considerations their environments present. This is a high bar to meet for any startup.
“With Wiz, companies are developing a new maturity level in their cloud environments by improving security, increasing visibility, and driving agility.”
Wiz more than tripled this figure last year, according to its website, making $350 million in revenue in 2023.
Wiz declined to comment on the latest report. The Independent has reached out to Google with a request for further information.