Tech giants have been on a major acquisition spree in recent weeks, highlighting increased deal-making activity in the startup space. Google in particular has made headlines with its ambitious plans to purchase top cloud security provider Wiz for a massive $23 billion sum.
Wiz, founded just four years ago, has experienced explosive growth with over $500 million in estimated annual recurring revenue. While still in its early stages, Google clearly sees huge potential in Wiz’s security solutions and wishes to capitalize on the startup’s meteoric rise. Negotiations are ongoing but not yet finalized, indicating Wiz founders may command an even higher price before acquiescing to an acquisition at this premature juncture.
In another large deal, Japan’s SoftBank Group opted to solidify its artificial intelligence ambitions by acquiring U.K. chipmaker Graphcore for an undisclosed price. Though Graphcore chips have yet to match industry stalwart Nvidia’s popularity, Softbank is betting on Graphcore playing a pivotal role in its AI investments going forward.
Payroll provider Deel also added to its acquisition tally, scooping up remote work equipment firm Hofy reportedly for over $100 million. The deal marks Deel’s third transaction of 2022 as it continues diversifying its product suite to meet growing distributed work demands.
These multi-billion dollar transactions demonstrate the depth of capital flowing into tech startups today. Both up-and-coming firms and behemoths see value in further developing promising breakthroughs through strategic mergers and partnerships. As innovative companies establish market dominance at warp speed, expect deal-making in the sector to persist apace.
