After EU approval, what comes next for Wiz and Israeli tech’s biggest windfall
The $32 billion Google acquisition now shifts from regulation to integration, with billions in Israeli tax revenue and questions over the future of an independent cloud security champion.
The European Union’s decision on Tuesday to approve Google’s $32 billion acquisition of Wiz removes the largest regulatory obstacle facing the biggest purchase ever of an Israeli-founded technology company. Yet the question now confronting policymakers, competitors, and the company itself is less about whether the deal will close than about what a post-independent Wiz will mean for cloud security, for Google’s ambitions, and for Israel’s economy.
The European Commission granted unconditional Phase I clearance, concluding that the transaction would raise no competition concerns in the European Economic Area. EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said regulators were satisfied that customers would retain “credible alternatives and the ability to switch providers,” noting that Google still trails Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure in cloud infrastructure market share.
The approval is a crucial victory for Google in its effort to close the gap with its larger rivals. The company has portrayed the acquisition as a way to strengthen security across cloud computing at a moment when artificial intelligence and the migration of critical services online are expanding the attack surface for governments and corporations alike.
Wiz echoed that framing. The company described the decision as a “significant step toward our goal of joining Google Cloud to redefine the future of AI and cloud security.” In a statement, Wiz added: “By combining Wiz’s deep knowledge of cloud and code with Google’s expertise and scale, we will be able to offer customers more choice in defending against today’s complex threats.”
The transaction carries implications far beyond the balance sheet of a single startup. The deal is expected to inject an estimated NIS 10 billion ($3.2 billion) into Israel’s state coffers in tax proceeds, most of which will come from co-founders, CEO Assaf Rappaport, CTO Ami Luttwak, VP of Product Yinon Costica, and VP of R&D Roy Reznik. They each hold approximately 9.3% of Wiz, meaning they will each receive around $3 billion before taxes from the acquisition.
Founded only a few years ago, Wiz built a reputation as a neutral layer that monitors security across multiple clouds, allowing enterprises to manage risk without committing to a single provider. That independence helped it win large corporate customers and grow at a pace rarely seen in the cybersecurity industry.
Critics of the deal have warned that this neutrality could be compromised under Google’s ownership. In recent weeks, a coalition of European advocacy organizations urged regulators not to approve the acquisition at the preliminary stage, arguing that even subtle shifts in engineering priorities could steer customers toward Google Cloud. They cautioned against “soft degradation,” the risk that features supporting rival platforms might evolve more slowly once Wiz becomes part of a larger ecosystem.
The Commission’s investigation addressed those concerns directly. Regulators said they had gathered extensive feedback from customers and rival suppliers and found “several credible competitors” to which customers could switch if Google were to bundle Wiz too tightly with its existing products. The inquiry also examined whether Google would gain access to sensitive data about competing cloud providers through Wiz’s integrations. It concluded that the information was not commercially sensitive and could generally be accessed by other security software companies.
With both the United States and the European Union now on board, the final closure of the transaction is expected later this year, pending approvals in Australia, South Africa, Turkey, and Israel, jurisdictions not expected to pose significant hurdles. The U.S. Department of Justice terminated its antitrust review in October, recording an “early termination” that signaled no grounds to delay or block the merger.
What follows will test whether a fast-growing insurgent can preserve its culture and product identity inside one of the world’s largest technology groups. Google says the acquisition will accelerate two trends: improved cloud security and the ability to operate across multiple clouds. But integration with a platform company inevitably raises questions about incentives, roadmaps, and the future of multi-cloud openness.
Still, the company’s founders portray the move as an opportunity rather than an endpoint. “Since this journey began, Wiz has remained steadfast in our mission to empower cloud builders and defenders,” the company said. The challenge now will be to prove that mission can survive inside the gravitational pull of Google.
