Google announced its plans to acquire Israeli cybersecurity company Whiz in January 2026 for $32 billion. If the deal ends up getting approved by the European Commission, it would be Google’s largest acquisition and one of the largest buyout of an Israeli company.
Even though the deal shows Israel’s large presence in cybersecurity and being at the forefront of technological advances, it also raises concerns in Europe over a feared lack of competition.
“I think that the deal gives Israel the recognition it deserves regarding revolutionary technology. We learned a word in Hebrew class that applies here, Chutzpah,” said junior Violet Berman.
The cybersecurity company was founded in 2020, and it quickly became one of the most successful startups in Israel through its innovation. Whiz garnered its reputation through offering security tools that are compatible with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google’s own cloud services.
This potential acquisition would be a significant milestone for Israel, which is known as the “Start-Up Nation” for the birth of companies such as Waze, acquired by Google in 2013, and Lemonade.
The deal is a greater sign of Israel’s capability in raising technological companies that are of great importance.
The outstanding valuation of 32 billion dollars positions Whiz as one of the most valuable Israeli companies.
However, European regulators are concerned about the problems this acquisition raises, specifically about competition in cloud computing and cybersecurity.
The primary concern is that Whiz currently operates independently, putting other companies like Amazon and Microsoft on an equal playing field.
However, if Google acquires Whiz, critics are concerned that Google will make Whiz’s tools work more with their cloud services, giving them an unfair advantage over other companies.
There are also fears over many companies relying on one large tech giant for their cloud services and cybersecurity, effectively giving them control over the industry and ensuring they do not switch providers.
Many regulators argue that this deal would result in reduced competition, higher prices and fewer choices for governments and other companies for these services.
“If Google controls both the cloud and the security tools that protect it, smaller companies won’t really have a chance. That kind of power could lead to higher prices and fewer options for everyone else,” said junior Dov Brown.
Another concern that many people have is that Google will have more data on how their competitors are utilizing Whiz for their own cloud services, giving them insights on how to improve their own. Therefore, this would give Google an unfair advantage over other companies.
These worries and concerns that Europeans have are not limited to competition, but also about the relationship between countries and large companies.
Many officials are thinking about the idea of digital sovereignty, which is that countries should not be dependent on cybersecurity companies.
The European Commission has the option to either allow the deal to go through or open up a larger investigation, which would result in stricter conditions or the blocking of the entire deal altogether. The decision that the European Commission reaches will ultimately impact deals regarding large tech companies going forward.
For Israel, this deal shows how powerful Israeli companies have become in both tech and cybersecurity, and also raises questions about what happens when tech giants absorb success stories like Whiz.
