In June 2013 "The Wall Street Journal" published a major article about Google's intriguing "acquisition of Israeli traffic navigation app Waze." Israel was quite literally on the map. Israel's creativity and entrepreneurship that had already featured extensively in dozens of articles describing the unique ecosystem of the 'Start-Up Nation' was an integral part of the media coverage of the deal.
Now 11 years later, the same newspaper has revealed a far bigger deal in the making from Google - the acquisition of Wiz for $23 billion. Only this time, Israel is conspicuous by its absence from the report. "The Wall Street Journal" simply reports that Google is in advanced talks to buy a cybersecurity startup with no mention of a connection to Israel.
A worrying sign that reflects Israel's current reputation
The company was founded by four Israelis (Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Ami Luttwak and Roy Reznik) but there is no mention that they met on the bus on their way to the IDF Induction Center on the first day of their military service or that they worked together in the IDF 8200 intelligence unit. "The Wall Street Journal" even mentions that the four entrepreneurs previously founded Adallom, which was sold to Microsoft in 2015 for $320 million but did not mention that it was an Israeli company. The article says that Wiz is headquartered in New York but does mention it has offices in the US and Israel. There are also links to old articles that do give more extensive information about Israel.
The article also neglects to mention that Adallom formed the infrastructure for Microsoft's huge center in Herzliya or that Rappaport was Microsoft Israel head of R&D. And most of the international media coverage of the event similarly airbrushed Israel out of Wiz's story. "The Financial Times," for example, mentioned in passing that Wiz is led by its Israeli founder Assaf Rappaport.
This is not meant to be a criticism of the media coverage but a worrying mirror perhaps reflecting Israel's current reputation around the world.
Over the past year most of "The Wall Street Journal's" coverage of Israel - and there has been a lot of it - has been about war and catastrophe. High-tech? Maybe about drones and weapons systems. The wars we do together but the exits are done individually. Assaf, Yinon, Ami and Roy can get together in New York and found a company for tens of billions.
The Israeli government will be one of the biggest beneficiaries
The irony, both of the media coverage but also for the founders themselves, is that this exit is about much more than Israeli pride, and another for graduates of IDF intelligence unit 8200 and Israeli creativity because the Israeli government itself is expected to become one of the biggest beneficiaries of the current deal. Even after selling a large stake over the years, the founders still own about 40% of Wiz, which should net the public coffers several billion dollars in taxes.
And why is this ironic? Because just last year after another successful financing round and the government's attempts to push through the judicial reform, Wiz announced that it would keep the funds it had raised outside of Israel. "Unfortunately," Rappaport wrote in February 2023, "due to the judicial coup, the money we raised will not enter Israel. Our greatest concern regarding Israeli high-tech is not only the money leaving Israel, but also the many funds that will no longer enter the country."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 15, 2024.
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