Wiz

What worked

Defined and became the reference implementation of the agentless CNAPP (cloud-native application protection platform) category, connecting to AWS, Azure and Google Cloud with read-only access and a unified security graph.
Grew from stealth to roughly $100 million in ARR in about 18 months — one of the fastest ramps in enterprise-software history — and crossed $1 billion in ARR by 2025.
Raised approximately $1.9 billion across six rounds, from a $100M Series A (2020) to a $1B Series E at a $12B valuation (May 2024).
Turned down a reported ~$23 billion Google acquisition offer in July 2024, then closed with Google at roughly $32 billion — the largest acquisition in Google's history.
Delivered the largest-ever acquisition of a venture-backed startup, generating one of the highest-multiple returns in modern venture capital for its seed and early investors.
Preserved multi-cloud neutrality in the acquisition terms, keeping its platform working across rival clouds even inside Google Cloud.

What broke

Wiz did not fail; it chose to sell. The 'end' here is the end of independence — an all-cash $32 billion acquisition by Google that closed in March 2026, not a collapse.
The standalone path had real costs: staying independent meant competing head-on with hyperscalers and platform giants (Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks) building competing CNAPP suites, a war of attrition Google's balance sheet could simply end.
A $32 billion cash offer at roughly triple the last private valuation — and well above the ~$23B it had earlier rejected — was a price the board and investors could not rationally refuse in favor of an uncertain IPO.
Cloud-security value was concentrating in a few platforms; joining Google Cloud gave Wiz distribution and capital that no independent could match, at the cost of its autonomy.
The near-year of antitrust review created its own pressure — a prolonged limbo that made closing, rather than re-litigating independence, the path of least resistance once regulators cleared it.