Wiz Liquidity case study

Liquidity Case Study | PUBLISHED MAY 2026
Liquidity Event

M&A, March 2026

Time to liquidity

45 Months

Net IRR*

112.40%

Net MOIC**

16.29x

Figures represent the median Equitybee investor
About Wiz's Acquisition

Wiz is an Israeli-American cloud security company founded in January 2020 by Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Roy Reznik, and Ami Luttwak. The company built a cloud infrastructure security platform that enables organizations to rapidly identify and remove critical risks across cloud environments, using an agentless approach to scan resources hosted on AWS, Azure, GCP, and Kubernetes.

On March 11, 2026, Alphabet completed its acquisition of Wiz for $32 billion in an all-cash deal, making it the largest acquisition in Google's history and the largest cybersecurity acquisition ever (TechCrunch). The deal also marked the biggest exit of an Israeli-founded technology company (Times of Israel). Wiz joined Google Cloud to strengthen its cloud security capabilities.

The acquisition came after Google initially attempted to acquire Wiz for $23 billion in July 2024, a deal that was ultimately cancelled. Google returned with an improved $32 billion offer in March 2025, which received U.S. DOJ clearance in November 2025 (SiliconANGLE) and EU regulatory approval in February 2026.

Wiz Investments with Equitybee

In August 2022, Equitybee facilitated the funding of stock option packages for Wiz employees at an entry price of $1.10 per share. Approximately 45 months after funding, Wiz was acquired by Google for $32 billion, delivering positive returns to all investors via Equitybee.

How Did Returns Through Equitybee Perform Compared to Leading VCs?

Wiz's $32 billion acquisition at $53.18 per share generated strong returns for Equitybee investors. Equitybee investors achieved a median net IRR of 112.40% with approximately 45 months to liquidity. By entering at $1.10 per share in August 2022, Equitybee investors accessed Wiz at a price point between the company's Series C ($6B valuation, October 2021) and Series D ($10.3B valuation, February 2023), well below the preferred share prices paid by later-stage institutional investors.

Broad Access
By funding startup employees' stock options, Equitybee opens the door for investors to participate in virtually any pre-IPO company. As of the date this case study was published, investors on the platform have funded employee stock options in over 890 startups, spanning sectors from SaaS and fintech to AI and consumer technology.
Discounted Entry Price
By funding employee stock options, Equitybee investors accessed Wiz at significantly earlier and lower valuations than traditional late-stage investors. In August 2022, the Equitybee offer entry price was $1.10 per share. By comparison, Wiz's Series D round in February 2023 valued the company at $10.3 billion, and its Series E round in May 2024 valued it at $12 billion. The $32 billion exit represented a 2.67x premium over Wiz's last private valuation. Fundraising round information sourced via Pitchbook, Inc

Fundraising round information sourced via Pitchbook, Inc.

Wiz Valuation Growth: From Startup to $32 Billion Exit

Round
Date
Post-Money Valuation
Lead Investors

Seed

Feb 2020

$21M

Series A

Dec 2020

$500M

Index Ventures, Insight Partners, Sequoia

Series B

Mar 2021

$1.7B

Advent International, Greenoaks

Series C

Oct 2021

$6.0B

Insight Partners, Greenoaks

EB Offer

Aug 2022

Entry: $1.10/share

Equitybee Investors

Series D

Feb 2023

$10.3B

Index Ventures, Greenoaks, Lightspeed

Series E

May 2024

$12.0B

Lightspeed, a16z, Thrive Capital

Acquisition

Mar 2026

$32.0B

Google / Alphabet

Wiz's trajectory from founding to exit was one of the fastest in cybersecurity history. The company reached a $6 billion valuation just 18 months after its founding, and was valued at $12 billion before Google's $32 billion acquisition.

*Fundraising round information sourced via Pitchbook, Inc.

Investment entry prices vs. Net IRR

The median net IRR for Equitybee offers on Wiz was 112.40%, and the structural reason sits at the heart of how the Equitybee model works. Because the offer price is built on the employee's exercise cost, and the exercise cost is the strike set at the company's 409A valuation at the time of grant, Equitybee investors are effectively investing based on a past valuation. The strike doesn't reset between grant and funding, so the further a company has grown between those two dates, the more meaningful that historical anchor becomes.

In Wiz's case, the strike on the underlying option grant was $1.1028 per share, set at Wiz's 2021 409A. The two offers funded in August 2022. From there, Wiz stepped up materially through its 2023 and 2024 rounds before the $32 billion Google acquisition closed at $53.18 per share, generating a 16.29x net MOIC over approximately 45 months.

The two offers funded in August 2022 delivered net MOICs of 14.11x and 18.47x respectively, with net IRRs of 104.55% and 120.26%. The spread reflects different share incentive percentages (30% vs. 40%) between the two offers.

Methodology: Returns are based on: (1) the exercise price per share of $1.1028, (2) a settlement price of $53.18 per share from the Google acquisition, and (3) the time between the funded date (August 5, 2022) and the distribution date (April 8, 2026), and (4) a 1:1 conversion from preferred to common shares at acquisition. All figures are net of fees.

*Internal Rate of Return, net of fees
**Multiple on Invested Capital
Past performance is not indicative of future results. 112.40% IRR represents the median IRR experienced by investors who utilized Equitybee to fund employee stock options in Wiz. Net IRR is shown net of all applicable fees. IRR figures are calculated for each offer on the Equitybee platform from the date the investor's funds were transferred to the employee (funded date) through the distribution date of proceeds. If the distribution date was less than one year after the funded date, the IRR represents an unannualized return. For distributions one year or more after the funded date, IRR is annualized.

From Investment to Liquidity

Timeline Of Events

February 2020
Wiz Founded

Seed round raises $21M

December 2020
Wiz Completes Series A

Lead Investors: Index Ventures, Insight Partners,
Sequoia, CyberStarts
Funding: $100M at $500M valuation

March 2021
Wiz Completes Series B

Lead Investors: Advent International, Greenoaks
Funding: $130M at $1.7B valuation

October 2021
Wiz Completes Series C

Lead Investors: Insight Partners, Greenoaks
Funding: $250M at $6B valuation

August 2022
Equitybee Offers Funded

Offer Price: $1.10 per share
Total Funding: $168,003

February 2023
Wiz Completes Series D

Lead Investors: Index Ventures, Greenoaks,
Lightspeed
Funding: $300M at $10.3B valuation

May 2024
Wiz Completes Series E

Lead Investors: Lightspeed, a16z, Thrive Capital
Funding: $1B at $12B valuation

July 2024
Google Acquisition Talks ($23B)

Deal ultimately cancelled

March 2025
Google Announces $32B Acquisition

All-cash deal announced

November 2025
DOJ Clears the Deal

U.S. regulatory approval

February 2026
EU Approves Acquisition

European regulatory clearance

March 11, 2026
Acquisition Closes

Settlement Price: $53.18 per share

April 8, 2026
Equitybee Distribution

Distribution Price: $53.18 per share
Distribution Date: April 8, 2026

Equitybee Investors Returns

Liquidity Event

M&A, March 2026

Time to liquidity

45 Months

Net IRR*

112.40%

Net MOIC**

16.29x

‍Figures represent the median Equitybee investor

Settlement price based on Google acquisition terms. Equitybee is not affiliated or associated with, or endorsed by, any of the companies mentioned herein. Equitybee executes private financing contracts (PFCs), private placements which are speculative, illiquid, contain substantial risk and may result in the complete loss of capital to the investor. These risks may be greater during extreme market conditions. PFCs do not grant or transfer ownership of startup company stock. When a liquidity event occurs at a price per share less than the investment price per share, Investors will first receive all available funds to recoup the original investment amount. The employee will not receive any proceeds in this event. A private offering of interests will only be made pursuant to a confidential private placement memorandum, an operating agreement, and other subscription documents ("Other Documents"), which will only be furnished to qualified investors on a confidential basis at their request for their consideration in connection with such offering. For accredited investors only. Securities offered through EquityBee Securities, LLC, member FINRA.

Sources
Google completes $32B acquisition of Wiz - TechCrunch
In biggest exit in Israeli history, Google completes $32 billion deal to buy Wiz - Times of Israel
Google Completes Acquisition of Wiz - Alphabet Investor Relations
DOJ greenlights Alphabet's $32B Wiz deal - SiliconANGLE
Fundraising round data - Pitchbook, Inc.

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890+
Startups
Equitybee investors have funded employee stock options in.
298
Liquidity events
298 unique liquidity events from 223 different companies.
$317M+
Total Volume
Equitybee facilitated over $317 million in total transaction volume.
70%
Median Discount
Compared to the last known preferred share price paid by investors on the cap table.
29.3
Avg # of months to liquidity
For investments that reached liquidity, the average time to return was 29.3 months
4,000+
Customers
Over 4,000 startup employees and investors world wide