Thought Leadership
Wiz, the cyber security start-up recently courted by Google, is continuing its ambitious growth course and acquiring the Israeli cloud security specialist Dazz for around 450 million dollars.
As Wiz announced on Thursday, the integration of Dazz technology will significantly expand its own Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) offering. The focus here is on the automated detection and remediation of security vulnerabilities using artificial intelligence. Rappaport emphasized the value of Dazz’s remediation engine, which enables security teams to correlate data from different sources and manage application risks in a unified platform.
Rapid rise and failed takeover plans
The deal underlines the remarkable development of Wiz, which has become a major player in the cloud security market in just four years. The company recently made headlines when it was announced that it could have become the largest takeover in the history of Google’s parent company Alphabet: Google was prepared to pay a sum of around 23 billion dollars for Wiz, but the deal fell through at the last minute.
Strategic importance of the takeover
Now Wiz is going on a shopping spree itself. “With the acquisition of Dazz, we are starting a new chapter in cloud security,” explains Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport. “Their advanced mapping technology enables developers to address vulnerabilities directly in code, seamlessly integrating key cloud context information into security workflows.”
Dazz, founded in 2021 by former Microsoft security engineers and executives from Armis, Adallom and Claroty, specialized in modernizing traditional vulnerability management processes. The start-up has already attracted well-known investors such as Greylock, Cyberstarts, Insight Partners and Index Ventures and raised a total of around 110 million dollars in venture capital. A further financing round of 50 million dollars took place in July 2023.
Association of long-standing partners
The takeover also marks the reunion of two old acquaintances: Wiz CEO Rappaport and Dazz founder Merav Bahat previously worked together at Microsoft after Rappaport’s first company Adallom was acquired by the software giant.
“Our customers today need to connect risks across the entire application lifecycle – from code to cloud and on-premise infrastructure,” emphasizes Rappaport. “With the integration of Dazz, we can now enable security teams to correlate data from multiple sources and manage application risk on a unified platform.”
Market consolidation in the cloud security segment
The takeover represents further consolidation in the fast-growing cloud security segment. The fact that Wiz is now acting as a buyer itself shows the young company’s self-confidence. Observers expect the trend towards integrated security solutions that combine AI-supported automation with comprehensive vulnerability management to continue to grow.
