Cybersecurity start-up Wiz Inc has turned down a takeover bid of as much as US$23 billion  from Alphabet Inc, and will instead stick to its plan for an initial public offering (IPO).

“Saying no to such humbling offers is tough, but with our exceptional team, I feel confident in making that choice,” Wiz chief executive officer Assaf Rappaport said in a memo to employees. “Let me cut to the chase,” Rappaport said, the company’s next milestones are reaching US$1 billion in annual recurring revenue “and an IPO”.

Wiz, a New York-based company that connects to cloud storage providers such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure and scans data stored there for security risks, gained worldwide attention after Google parent Alphabet was said to be in discussions to buy it for nearly double its valuation just two months ago. Before the takeover talks, Wiz had been rapidly expanding with acquisitions of its own and was starting to eye an IPO.

“The market validation we have experienced following this news only reinforces our goal - creating a platform that both security and development teams love,” Rappaport said.

The company, founded in 2020, was valued at US$12 billion during a May funding round that drew investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Thrive Capital.

  - Bloomberg