Google completes Wiz acquisition as cloud security demand grows

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  Google completes acquisition of cloud security firm Wiz.
  
  


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  Organisations shift data to the cloud and adopt AI tools.
  
  

Growing use of cloud computing and artificial intelligence has pushed

cybersecurity

higher up the agenda for companies and governments. As more data and development work move online, the risk of attacks grows at the same time. Security teams now deal with complex cloud systems and new threats linked to AI tools.

Against this backdrop, Google has completed its acquisition of Wiz, a cloud security firm based in New York. Wiz will operate under the Google Cloud business while keeping its existing brand and services.

The deal reflects a wider change in how organisations manage technology. Businesses and public agencies are moving important systems to the cloud and adopting faster software development methods. Many run their systems in several cloud providers and AI tools are playing a larger role in cyber defence and cyberattacks.

Rising cloud use raises security concerns

Security researchers have warned that attackers use AI to automate parts of their operations. Tools that once required specialist knowledge can now be used at scale. That change has raised concern among security teams, especially those responsible for large cloud environments.

Global spending on cybersecurity continues to rise as companies try to manage such risks. Gartner estimates that world spending on information security will reach US$213 billion in 2025, up from about US$193 billion in 2024. Much of that spending goes toward protecting cloud systems and the data stored in them. It also covers security for software workloads.

Wiz built its reputation by offering a platform that connects to major cloud services and scans for security risks. The software checks how systems are set up and how applications are written and reviews how workloads run in the cloud. This approach allows teams to detect weak settings and exposed data. It can also reveal software flaws that may lead to breaches.

The platform works in the main public cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud. Most organisations rely on several of these providers at once; the practice of multicloud computing.

Combining cloud security tools

Google Cloud says the integration of Wiz’s technology will help improve how threats are detected and managed. The aim is to combine Google’s security tools with Wiz’s view of cloud environments and application code. Security teams could then monitor systems in different clouds using one set of tools.

Another area of focus is AI-related risk. As businesses build AI systems, those models and the data used to train them can become targets for attackers. The joint platform is intended to help detect threats linked to AI systems and identify attempts to manipulate or steal AI models.

AI tools may also help the platform detect threats faster. Many modern security platforms rely on machine learning to scan large amounts of data and spot unusual behaviour.

Smaller organisations may also benefit from these changes. Cloud-based security tools can help them detect risks without running complex systems of their own.

Google says Wiz’s products will continue to operate in all major cloud services. The company also plans to offer the software through existing partner networks and through the Google Cloud Marketplace, where organisations purchase third-party software that runs on Google’s infrastructure.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the deal reflects growing concern about online safety as more companies and governments move their work to the cloud and adopt generative AI tools. He said bringing Wiz together with Google Cloud should make it easier for organisations to “innovate with confidence” while keeping systems secure. Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, said the aim is to make security easier to manage in complex cloud environments. He described security as something that should support innovation not slow it down. The acquisition, he said, will help create a single platform that “simplifies the complex task of protecting multicloud environments in the AI era”.

Assaf Rappaport, co-founder and CEO of Wiz, said joining Google Cloud could help the company expand its work protecting cloud systems and keep its open approach to supporting platforms. He said Wiz will continue to support major cloud and code environments and that combining Google’s AI abilities with Wiz’s understanding of cloud systems puts the company “in a stronger position to help our partners and customers prevent breaches before they happen.”

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