Why Wiz really turned down Google’s $23B offer

Date:

Share post:


Welcome back to Week in Review. This week, we’re coming at you right off the heels of TechCrunch Disrupt! If you missed it, we’re highlighting conversations from Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg, and Disney star turned space CEO Bridgit Mendler. Of course, we’ve got news from the rest of the tech world as well. Let’s do it.

Why did Wiz turn down $23 billion? Wiz co-founder and CEO ​​Assaf Rappaport said at TechCrunch Disrupt that turning down Alphabet’s offer was “the toughest decision ever,” but they did so because they believed the cloud security space is a $100 billion opportunity for the company. At the time Wiz turned down the offer, the startup had a private valuation of $12 billion. The CEO admitted that they also had other offers, though none as big as Google’s.

Apple had a big week of reveals, including the latest additions to the M-series of chips. The company unveiled the new M4 Pro, which debuts alongside the tiny new Mac mini and the M4 Max, the latter of which is coming to the MacBook Pro line as an upgradeable option. Apple also gave a refresh to its desktop accessories, switching them from Lightning to USB-C. But the charging port for the Magic Mouse is still awkwardly on the bottom.

Dropbox is laying off 20% of its workforce. In a letter to staff, CEO Drew Houston said the cloud company is undergoing a “transitional period” and that the goal was to make cuts in areas where Dropbox has “over-invested” while designing a “flatter, more efficient” team structure. The reduction in headcount will affect 528 employees.


This is TechCrunch’s Week in Review, where we recap the week’s biggest news. Want this delivered as a newsletter to your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here.


News

Image Credits:Kimberly White for TechCrunch / Getty Images

What is plagiarism? At TechCrunch Disrupt, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas was asked how the company defined “plagiarism.” Srinivas wouldn’t say directly, but he was adamant that Perplexity “always cites its sources” and doesn’t claim ownership of any content. Read more

OpenAI could be building its first AI chip: OpenAI is working with TSMC and Broadcom to build an in-house AI chip for running AI models, which could arrive as soon as 2026, Reuters reports. Read more

Turn your design into a reality: Arcade AI is a new type of marketplace that allows customers to input their ideas into a generator that then produces a variety of design options to be brought to life as tangible pieces of jewelry. Read more

From Disney Channel to CEO: Former Disney star Bridgit Mendler joined TechCrunch Disrupt to discuss how she founded Northwood Space and why the space startup is committed to solving “unsexy problems.” Read more

AI comes for recruiters: LinkedIn is taking the wraps off its latest AI effort: Hiring Assistant. The product is designed to take on a wide array of recruitment tasks, from ingesting scrappy notes to turn into job descriptions, to sourcing candidates and engaging with them. Read more

Matt Mullenweg makes his case: The WordPress co-founder and Automattic CEO said at TechCrunch Disrupt that he’s not worried that the recent legal drama between his company and WP Engine may lead to a fork of the open source WordPress software. In fact, he said he’d welcome it. Read more

Olivia Wilde, VC: Actor and director Olivia Wilde quietly launched venture firm Proximity Ventures late last year, according to Bloomberg. The firm has already inked four investments, including biotech company Pendulum Therapeutics. Read more

Slice makes its mark in India: Fintech Slice merged with North East Small Finance Bank, marking a rare instance of a startup successfully entering India’s tightly regulated banking sector. The merger transforms Slice into a banking entity following months of regulatory scrutiny. Read more

An easier way to code: Announced at GitHub’s annual conference in San Francisco, Spark is an experiment launching out of its GitHub Next labs that allows you to quickly build a small web app using nothing but natural language. Read more

Turn text into a podcast: Meta released an “open” implementation of the viral generate-a-podcast feature in Google’s NotebookLM. Called NotebookLlama, the project can generate back-and-forth, podcast-style digests of text files uploaded to it. Read more

Zoox calls Tesla’s bluff: Zoox co-founder and CTO Jesse Levinson is doubtful that Tesla will launch a robotaxi ride-hailing service next year. The “fundamental issue is they don’t have technology that works,” he said at TechCrunch Disrupt. Read more

And the winner is … : The winner of the Startup Battlefield 200 competition at TechCrunch Disrupt is Salva Health. The company’s Julieta device is a portable, AI-powered breast cancer detection device that eliminates barriers to early screening, ensuring access even in remote areas. Read more



Source link

Lisa Holden
Lisa Holden
Lisa Holden is a news writer for LinkDaddy News. She writes health, sport, tech, and more. Some of her favorite topics include the latest trends in fitness and wellness, the best ways to use technology to improve your life, and the latest developments in medical research.

Recent posts

Related articles

Coatue is raising $1B for AI bets

Coatue Management, a hedge fund that invested heavily in tech startups during the pandemic-infused boom, is raising...

Meta’s former hardware lead for Orion is joining OpenAI

Meta’s former head of augmented reality glasses announced on Monday she is joining OpenAI to lead robotics...

Datadog challenger Dash0 aims to dash observability bill shock

The end of zero-interest rates has driven companies to look for savings wherever they can, but one...

Bowery Farming is ceasing operations

Agtech unicorn Bowery Farming is shutting down, according to PitchBook, which cited internal documents and multiple company...

Apple users can soon upgrade to ChatGPT Plus within the Settings app

Apple products are getting an integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT in December when iOS 18.2 rolls out, which...

Perplexity CEO offers AI company’s services to replace striking NYT staff

The CEO of AI search company Perplexity, Aravind Srinivas, has offered to cross picket lines and provide...

Bluesky gears up for Election Day as X goes pro-Trump

As Election Day in the U.S. nears, social networking startup Bluesky, now flush with new capital, hopes...

Amazon brings generative AI-powered recaps to Prime Video

Instead of scouring the internet for a summary of a TV show, which often risks unintentionally revealing...