Wiz has walked away from a $23 billion deal to be bought by Google
, in what would have been the search giant’s largest-ever acquisition, telling employees it would pursue an IPO as previously planned.
“Saying no to such humbling offers is tough,” Wiz co-founder Assaf Rappaport wrote in a memo obtained by CNBC to the company’s employees. A person familiar with Wiz’s thinking, who requested anonymity to discuss private matters freely, said the company weighed antitrust and investor concerns as reasons for abandoning the potential deal.
Rappaport wrote that the company would focus on its next milestones: an initial public offering and $1 billion in annual recurring revenue. Wiz had been eyeing both targets well before talks with Google had been reported.
The deal would have nearly doubled the $12 billion valuation of the startup from its most recent round of funding. Wiz was founded in 2020 and has grown rapidly under Rappaport, who had been targeting an IPO as recently as May. The company hit $100 million in annual recurring revenue after 18 months, and reached $350 million last year.