Tehran Institute For International Studies tiis
Google’s acquisition of Israeli software company, Wiz, for $32 billion shows just how much Silicon Valley is invested in Israeli tech.
The problem is, almost all of Israeli tech is first developed by a genocidal army.
At a time when global concern is mounting over the crimes committed against civilians in Gaza, and calls are increasing to halt the genocide being carried out by Israel, recent news reveals a more dangerous role played by giant tech companies in fueling the Israeli war machine. In July 2024, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, announced the completion of its acquisition of the Israeli company Wiz for an unprecedented amount — $32 billion in cash. The move was described as the largest acquisition in Google’s history.
But this deal goes beyond being merely a business investment; it reveals the depth of moral and technical involvement Silicon Valley companies have in supporting the economy of the Israeli occupation, and even in financing its military and intelligence arms.
This makes it important to ask several pressing questions: What is the nature of the relationship between Wiz and Israel’s military intelligence? Why is Google pumping billions of dollars into a startup founded by former officers in the Israeli military’s infamous cyberwarfare arm, Unit 8200? And how do these investments contribute to the continued occupation and the funding of wars against Palestinian civilians?
The Largest Acquisition In Google’s History
On July 14, 2024, The Wall Street Journal published an exclusive report revealing negotiations between Alphabet, Google’s parent company, and Wiz regarding an acquisition deal. Alphabet’s initial offer was $23 billion, but the Israeli company rejected it. After months of negotiations, Alphabet announced the completion of the Wiz acquisition for $32 billion, marking the largest deal in the company’s history. This move was not merely a business investment but reflected a strategic direction to enhance Google’s cybersecurity capabilities, especially amid growing competition with companies like Microsoft and Amazon.
Wiz, one of the fastest-growing software companies in the world, generated $700 million in revenue in 2024 and is expected to reach $1 billion by the end of 2025. These figures highlight the company’s strength in the cybersecurity market but also raise questions about why Google injected such a massive amount into an Israeli startup.
Wiz was founded by four Israelis who served in Israel’s Unit 8200, an elite military intelligence unit known for training top programmers and cybersecurity experts. The founders are Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Roy Reznik, and Ami Luttwak.
After completing their military service, these individuals used their expertise to establish a cybersecurity company. In 2012, they founded Adallom, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2015 for $320 million.
Later, they founded Wiz in March 2020, and the company succeeded in making huge leaps in the cloud security market. It reached a market value of $23 billion before being acquired by Google for $32 billion.
How Israeli Tech Is First Developed In The Army
Investments by major global corporations like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon in Israeli tech firms are among the most significant sources of economic support for the Israeli occupation. This support is not limited to strengthening Israel’s economy but also extends to funding and developing its military and intelligence capabilities.
The technology sector is a cornerstone of Israel’s economy, accounting for 54% of the country’s total exports. In 2022, Israel’s exports amounted to $165 billion, with $89 billion coming from the technology sector alone. In 2023, the tech industry contributed 20% of Israel’s GDP, equating to $102 billion out of a total of $510 billion.
These figures highlight that Israel’s economy relies primarily on technology rather than agriculture or traditional industry, meaning that foreign investments in this sector directly support the continuation of the occupation. Many Israeli startups are closely linked to military and intelligence units.
But these companies don’t grow in a purely commercial environment; they are developed within Israeli military intelligence units, particularly Unit 8200 and Unit 81, which serve as secret training centers for cyber infiltration and big data analysis.
Unit 8200, known globally as “Israel’s Silicon Valley,” develops hacking and cybersecurity technologies that are later marketed as security solutions for global corporations. Meanwhile, Unit 81 specializes in advanced espionage and cyber infiltration technologies used in intelligence and military operations. Once developers leave military service, these technologies are later commercialized by private Israeli companies.
In other words, the Israeli army’s activity is the prime nexus for the initial development of these technologies before they are taken to the private sector. These firms are direct extensions of the expertise gained within the military.
The most prominent example is the NSO Group, founded by former Unit 8200 members. NSO was responsible for the Pegasus software that spied on the phones of 75 human rights defenders in Palestine, and on journalists and political dissidents worldwide.
There are many other examples, including Argus Cyber Security, specializing in smart vehicle security, which was later acquired by the German company, Continental; Check Point Software, one of the world’s largest cybersecurity firms, which provides advanced protection solutions against cyberattacks; and Cybereason, which specializes in cyber threat analysis and has attracted major investments from companies like Japan’s SoftBank.
Google’s Acquisitions Of Israeli Companies
For years, Google has been investing in Israeli companies, particularly those in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. In 2013, Google acquired the Waze navigation app for $1.1 billion, marking one of its largest acquisitions outside the United States. In 2014, it purchased SlickLogin, which developed encrypted soundwave-based login technology — an advanced security innovation originating in Israel. Then, in 2022, Google acquired two Israeli cybersecurity companies, Simplicity and Siemplify, for $500 million each.
Additionally, in 2016, Google acquired Orbitera, a cloud application distribution company, for $100 million. These investments demonstrate Google’s heavy reliance on Israeli innovations for developing its security and cloud technologies.
But Google is not the only tech giant pouring billions into the Israeli economy. Microsoft has also been a major investor implicated in Israel’s settler colonial regime.
In 2015, Microsoft acquired Adallom, founded by Assaf Rappaport — the same founder of Wiz — for $320 million to enhance its cloud security systems.
In 2017, Microsoft acquired Hexadite, an Israeli company specializing in AI-driven cybersecurity, for $100 million. In 2020, it purchased CyberX, which provides industrial infrastructure protection solutions, for $165 million.
But more recently, Microsoft’s complicity in providing the AI infrastructure for the ongoing genocide in Gaza was brought to light earlier this year following viral footage of Microsoft engineers Ibtihal Aboussad and Vaniya Agrawal each disrupting two different Microsoft events in protest over the company’s complicity in the genocide. At two separate events on April 4, Aboussad confronted Microsoft AI’s CEO, Mustafa Suleyman, while Agrawal confronted former CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer while they were in conversation with current CEO Satya Nadella. Both Aboussad and Agrawal were later fired.
Major technology corporations like Microsoft and Google do not merely collaborate with Israeli companies — they heavily rely on them for technological advancements. It results in the injection of billions of dollars into the Israeli economy, strengthening its technological capabilities, and those are, in turn, used for military and intelligence purposes — like carrying out a genocide in Gaza.
Google Funds Israel’s Wars
These massive investments come at a time when Israel requires significant funding, having spent over $67.57 billion on its war in Gaza so far. These investments aren’t only used to compensate for war losses, but to finance the continued growth of Israel’s military capabilities, including weapons and equipment used against Palestinian civilians.
This raises serious questions about the ethical commitments of multinational companies like Google regarding their investments, especially when the economy they invest in is directly linked to financing an army accused of war crimes and genocide.
Amid the official celebrations held by Microsoft, Ibtihal Abousaad accused her CEO of harnessing artificial intelligence for genocide. “You claim to care about using artificial intelligence for good, but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli army. 50,000 people have died, and Microsoft supports this genocide in our region.”
Abousaad clarified that Microsoft had signed a $133 million contract with the Israeli Ministry of Defense to store massive amounts of data through the “Azure” service, which directly contributes to the surveillance of Palestinians and the operation of Israel’s most sensitive projects, such as the “target bank” and the “Palestinian population registry,” used by AI systems to facilitate the slaughter in Gaza. The reliance of major technology companies — including Microsoft and Google — on employing their innovations to serve the occupation is no longer merely a moral issue, but has become a direct involvement in the project of genocide in Gaza.
In an internal email to staff, Abousaad wrote: “For over a year and a half, I’ve watched the genocide of my people in Palestine. I realized that part of my work was being used to kill children, doctors, journalists, and civilians. I couldn’t stay silent.”
Argawal echoed these sentiments in a subsequent media interview with Middle East Eye. “As time went on, I just found it more and more difficult to continue giving my time, my energy and my care to a company that was just so clearly on the wrong side of history,” she said.
By Refaat Ibrahim, Mondoweiss.
