In what is now the largest acquisition in both Google’s and Israel’s history – and the fourth-largest tech deal of all time – the tech giant has agreed to acquire Israeli cloud security start-up Wiz for a staggering $32 billion.
The deal is a defining moment for the global cybersecurity industry, a testament to Israel’s enduring tech prowess, and a defiant vote of confidence in a country in crisis. It’s also a wake-up call to Israel: There is much to lose if you continue along your path to self-destruction.
That a start-up founded in 2020 could reach this valuation in under five years is astonishing in any context. But for this to happen amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas and escalating global calls to boycott or isolate the country makes the acquisition all the more significant (even if the company is now “registered” in the US).
Wiz is far from Google’s first foray into Israeli tech. In 2013, it bought Waze for $1.1b. The crowd-sourced navigation app transformed Google Maps and helped solidify Israel’s image as the “Start-Up Nation.” In the years since, Google has quietly built out a massive R&D presence in Israel, employing over 2,000 engineers focused on AI, cybersecurity, navigation, cloud infrastructure, and even core search functions.
Other acquisitions like Elastifile, Alooma, and SlickLogin, all Israel-origin start-ups, complemented this strategy. But Wiz marks a new peak. Founded by ex-Microsoft Israel R&D heads, Wiz has grown into the most valuable cloud security company on the planet in record time. It claims its tools are now used by over 40% of the Fortune 100.
It also catapults Google into a rarefied list of the biggest tech acquirers in history. Only a handful of deals have ever topped the $30b. mark:
- Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard – $68.7b. (2022), a blockbuster gaming deal that gave Microsoft control over major franchises like Call of Duty and Candy Crush.
- Dell’s acquisition of EMC – $67b. (2016), a bold move to dominate enterprise storage and cloud infrastructure.
- IBM’s acquisition of Red Hat – $34b. (2019), aimed at expanding IBM’s footprint in hybrid cloud services.
- Google’s acquisition of Wiz – $32b. (2025), cementing Israel’s leadership in cloud security.
- Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn – $26.2b. (2016), a strategic entry into social enterprise and professional networking.
This move signals not only Google’s priorities – cloud security chief among them – but the global stature of Israeli innovation, recognized for agility, creative problem-solving, and deep engineering talent. Israel is now the only country outside the US where Google conducts full-scale product development. The relationship is now so integral that Google’s global strategies increasingly depend on its Israeli partners.
Wiz deal reaffirms Israel's place in global cybersecurity
THE TIMING is not incidental. As AI and cloud systems become more powerful – and potentially more vulnerable – Google is racing to secure its cloud ecosystem. Wiz provides just that: real-time visibility, proactive threat mitigation, and tools that scale across platforms. The acquisition is not just about owning a piece of Israeli genius; it’s about safeguarding the very fabric of modern tech infrastructure.
If Waze put Israeli tech on the global map for consumer-facing apps, Wiz does so for the infrastructure that powers the digital economy. The Wiz deal reaffirms three things:
Israel – with more start-ups per capita than any other country in the world by far – is a prince among nations in the tech area. It consistently competes for the number one or two global VC investment relative to GDP, and ranks in the top 10 overall. With over 130 unicorns – companies valued at over $1b. – it’s a world-beater by that metric as well.
Cyber is king in Israel. About a third of all global VC investment in cybersecurity flowed into Israeli start-ups last year – $4b., which was double the figure of a year prior.
Innovation, at least for now, trumps geopolitics. The resilience of Israel’s tech sector – despite calls to isolate the country over its wartime conduct – seems to reflect the global indispensability of its intellectual capital.
Its $12b. in foreign tech investment in 2024 was less than half the peak year of 2021 (when a global tidal wave brought in over $30b.), but still among the top in the world.
For a country of fewer than 10 million people, such impact is astoundingly disproportionate. What makes Israel so extraordinary in tech?
The country’s combination of elite military intelligence training, entrepreneurial culture, and global networks has made it a go-to hub for innovation. It has the most engineers per capita in the world – 135 compared to 80 in the US.
The country’s elite military units, such as Unit 8200, churn out tech-savvy veterans who become founders, engineers, and CTOs. Government incentives, world-class universities, and a risk-tolerant business culture all help create an environment where innovation can thrive – and scale.
Moreover, Israeli start-ups are increasingly focused on infrastructure-level solutions, where the big money generally resides: cloud security, AI chips, digital health platforms, agri-tech, and food tech. These are not just apps or consumer tools; they are the building blocks of the global digital economy.
At the same time, there is reason for concern. Israel’s tech miracle is in danger of being eviscerated by troubling internal trends:
It has allowed a massive explosion of the ultra-Orthodox (haredi) community, which depends heavily on handouts, accounts for a sixth of the population and doubles every generation due to a massive birthrate, refuses to educate children in science, math, and English, and has low labor rates. This house of cards is headed for collapse.
A rightward shift in politics has brought about a creeping illiberalism that threatens the democratic foundations that helped foster this innovation ecosystem. The government is pushing hard to weaken the judiciary and the rule of law, which risks both driving away foreign investment and hastening a brain drain.
The warning signs are real, and they matter.
The incubator Israel has built – where military training meets academic excellence and entrepreneurial daring – remains one of the most effective engines of innovation in the world. That engine has created technologies critical to global cybersecurity, mobility, and health. But it will not run forever on fumes.
The world has a stake in Israel fixing itself – not just for moral or political reasons but because the digital future may well depend on it.
The writer is the former chief editor of The Associated Press in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, the former chairman of the Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem, and the author of two books about Israel. Follow his newsletter, “Ask Questions Later,” at danperry.substack.com.