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Google-Wiz deal fizzles out, company will pursue IPO

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Re: Google-Wiz deal fizzles out, company will pursue IPO

#251

Post by toomuchtodo »

ergocoder wrote: post #247
toomuchtodo wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fast enough to cash out at highly favorable and ambitious valuations while the ARR trajectory supports it. You’re selling potential, you don’t have to deliver; that’s the next team’s problem.

Wiz: Got to 350m ARR Hacker news: "you don't have to deliver. That's the next team's problem". Apparently 350m isn't enough to prove potential.

It's certainly not enough to justify a $23B valuation target, or even $12B assuming reasonable multiples in the space (average is ~15x in cyber tools and controls). Lacework went from an $8B valuation to $200M–$230M (first with Wiz attempting to acquire, and now Fortinet at the valuation I mentioned, roughly ~2x revenue, ~3x if we want to be generous). A case can be made that Wiz is a more mature platform and Lacework is a fire sale (which it is, but also not a great sign for the rest of the space), but I'll argue a lot of Wiz's revenue is likely premium pricing with current customers that can cram them down on at their next renewal cycle, and the TAM is simply only so big (with competitors being as, if not more, resourced to compete and stay ahead).

You can't grow into something there isn't room to grow into.

https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/18/wiz-is-in-talks-to-buy-lac...

https://www.forrester.com/blogs/fortinet-acquires-lacework/

Re: Google-Wiz deal fizzles out, company will pursue IPO

#252

Post by cpcat »

glandium wrote: post #144

I was like "how the f* is a website builder possibly worth $23B" and then I realized Wiz is not Wix. And then I realized Wix has a market capitalization of $9B, and I'm still WTF.

Oh. All this time I thought Wix pivoted to become a security company and suddenly Google wants to buy it. Just realized Wix is not Wiz. Still weird.

Re: Google-Wiz deal fizzles out, company will pursue IPO

#253

Post by 6th »

cko wrote: post #249
6th wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not even knowing about Wix until today, I had no idea what to make of it, I wasn't trying to be snarky with that comment. I was actually interested to know what they meant because it sounds like saying: "let's take a walk down to the top of the highest mountain".

Wix, on the other hand, is a website builder, not a cyber security firm.

I did mean Wiz. I guess my brain just substituted that. I guess I'm at least familiar with the Wix name in that I saw ads all over the net ~a decade ago?

Re: Google-Wiz deal fizzles out, company will pursue IPO

#254

Post by steelframe »

mihaic wrote: post #110

Over a certain threshold, all software companies seem to degenerate into sales companies. Honestly, I'm just mildly shocked of the $23B valuation for a product that I'd expect to have taken waaay less than 1% of that in dev costs. What I'm more shocked is that Google decided they can't build the same thing themselves. Maybe I don't understand the complexity of the product?

People in the Google Security Command Center area were confused about what their strategy was with respect to Chronicle. It seemed as if two different groups at the company were essentially trying to do the same thing. Now there's this "Wiz Security Command Center" they were thinking of acquiring. Sure, why not resolve the SCC vs. Chronicle confusion by acquiring a third-party SCC?

I swear Google is transforming itself into the next IBM.

Re: Google-Wiz deal fizzles out, company will pursue IPO

#255

Post by synicalx »

6th wrote: post #238
fkyoureadthedoc wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not understanding an idiom is something you should just discuss with ChatGPT, it'll set you straight, show you the ropes, right your ship, and whatnot.

I very much doubt that. This as a phase doesn't even seem to exist online till today, even much less as an idiom, telling me the equivalent of "just google" for someone specific's thinking is entirely unhelpful. I wasn't interested in what ChatGPT can hallucinate or even output. I was after Voloskaya's context, Voloskaya would be the one to provide this insight, which is who I chose to ask for that.

Genuinely asking here; have you really never heard the phrase "meteoric rise" before?

Re: Google-Wiz deal fizzles out, company will pursue IPO

#256

Post by grogenaut »

generic92034 wrote: post #75
danpalmer wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I don't have any comment on this instance, in general I think it's easier to hype the public markets who have limited information than it is to type a bunch of people doing due diligence on an acquisition, even if ultimately the latter is still a case of public market valuation through the acquiring public company. This is particularly true in the current age of extremely hype driven retail investing.

> a bunch of people doing due diligence on an acquisition I bet those people rarely get promoted for preventing an acquisition, though. Probably that is why we see so many crazy acquisitions, in general.

Having done compartmentalized (I wasn't on the team acquiring) technical due diligence two times, my job had nothing to do with if the acquisition was a good idea or not. My job was to vet if they had what they were saying they had or if it was all smoke and mirrors. As others have said, the decision was already made to buy them, I was just vetting that we were buying what we thought we were buying. I also would look for the smouldering tech debt and cost out moving to our tech platforms (AWS). And I'd answer risk but not IP questions for the acquiring manager.

The only way I'd tank a deal was by identifying that it was in fact smoke and mirrors.

Re: Google-Wiz deal fizzles out, company will pursue IPO

#257

Post by guywithahat »

jwally wrote: post #142

> saying no to such humbling offers is tough Minor pet peeve: misuse of the word "humbling". A $23B offer is not humbling (on my planet at least). Humbling would be turning this offer down and then failing to get enough interest to generate an ipo.

I was confused when I read that. 23B is a ginormous number, especially considering the CEO's previous exist. 23B is a flattering number, it's not humbling

Re: Google-Wiz deal fizzles out, company will pursue IPO

#258

Post by jazzyjackson »

llmblockchain wrote: post #217

How much value do companies get out of these "enterprise security" companies? I've always thought they were the modern equivalent to commercial virus scanners that come with Windows.

With incoming CMMC requirements to do business with DoD, being able to write a check to be in compliance with regulation is life or death for government contractors.

Re: Google-Wiz deal fizzles out, company will pursue IPO

#259

Post by qeternity »

trhway wrote: post #130
qeternity wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the shareholders are not in Israel.

You seem to be half-way right. Wiz took 1.9B total. The last 1B was on $12B valuation and the previous rounds, except series A where i don't see data, were also under 10%. So, yes, the investors probably own about a half.

Also the vast majority of the team, including the founders, are in NYC.

Re: Google-Wiz deal fizzles out, company will pursue IPO

#260

Post by heraldgeezer »

forrestthewoods wrote: post #232
dingaling wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AD is fairly well known due to its relationship with LDAP and Kerberos. Samba can act as an AD DC.

I don't know what Active Directory, LDAP, Kerberos, or AD DC are. I've at least heard of Active Directory though! The programming industry is vast. I've never touched webdev so I don't know countless things that most programmers know.

Best part is, Active Directory, is not webdev related at all. :)
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