Google boosts cloud security and health tech with $32 billion deal and new AI tools
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, just made its biggest purchase ever by snapping up Wiz, a New York cybersecurity company, for $32 billion. Wiz will join Google Cloud to strengthen its defenses. This comes after a failed attempt last year to buy Wiz for $23 billion.
Wiz, started in Israel, helps big names like Microsoft and Amazon keep their cloud systems safe. It was worth $12 billion in May 2024, jumping to $16 billion later that year when it offered shares to employees. The company had been gearing up for its first public stock sale before this deal. If approved, this purchase will top Google’s $12.5 billion buy of Motorola Mobility in 2012.
Wiz’s CEO, Assaf Rappaport, said in a blog, “Joining Google Cloud will speed up our work and help us create new solutions faster than we could alone.” Last year’s deal didn’t happen because Wiz’s team feared it might break competition rules, according to the Financial Times. This time, Alphabet and Wiz hope U.S. regulators, including the new Federal Trade Commission head Andrew Ferguson, will go easy. Still, Ferguson plans to keep a close eye on big tech, including an ongoing check on Microsoft.
To ease concerns, Google promises Wiz’s tools will still work on rival clouds like Amazon, Microsoft, and Oracle. Rappaport stressed, “Wiz must stay available to all cloud users.” Google Cloud will also sell other security options alongside Wiz’s offerings.
At a health event in New York, Google shared plans for new “open” AI tools called TxGemma to help discover drugs. Set to launch this month via Google’s Health AI program, these tools can read the regular text and understand chemicals and proteins. Google’s health chief, Karen DeSalvo, said, “Making new drugs takes time and money, so we’re teaming up with researchers to speed things up. TxGemma can answer questions to guess how safe or effective new treatments might be.”
Google also rolled out health upgrades for Search and Android, like better answers for health questions and new ways to manage medical records. These moves show Google’s push to grow in healthcare and secure its cloud services.