Breakups might be tough, but rejections are even harder — just ask GoogleGOOG

. Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport revealed that the firm turned down Alphabet’s $23B acquisition proposal, calling it a “humbling offer.” But the startup has higher aspirations: the stock market. Wiz plans to pursue an initial public offering (IPO), aiming to establish itself as a major player in cybersecurity — especially in the aftermath of the CrowdStrike crisis.

• In 2022, Wiz reportedly became the fastest-growing software company, generating $100M in annual revenue within 18 months of its founding.
• Wiz says that it serves 40% of Fortune 100 companies and has a current Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) of $350M, with a target of $1B in ARR by next year.

The dealbreaker: The Wiz acquisition would’ve given Google a leg up in the competitive cybersecurity industry, where MicrosoftMSFT

and AmazonAMZN

have dominated. Google has tried to catch up through acquisitions like its $500M purchase of Siemplify and the $5.4B acquisition of Mandiant in 2022, both meant to beef up its security capabilities. However, its strategic efforts have faced increased scrutiny from regulators — concerned about Google’s size and monopoly in different businesses, potentially leading to more regulatory challenges. While this takeover would have been the largest acquisition in Google’s history, Bloomberg reports that Wiz reportedly abandoned the deal over antitrust and investor concerns.