Alphabet is considering buying cloud security startup Wiz for an eyewatering $US23bn, potentially its most expensive acquisition ever.

For the Wizkids at Wiz, every cloud system has a golden lining if the deal proceeds.

Wiz’s founders initially ran another cloud security company, Adallom, which it sold to Microsoft for $US320m in 2015 after being founded three years earlier.

At the time, Microsoft said it acquired Adallom “to advance identity and security in the cloud”. Second time around, they stand to acquire 72 times that from the deal with Alphabet, if it proceeds.

The Wall Street Journal which reported the new development says Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is in advance talks with Wiz and a deal could come together soon, according to its sources.

“The acquisition could also help boost Alphabet’s efforts in cloud computing, an important and growing business but one where it has lagged behind peers,” says the journal.

A deal would also bolster Alphabet’s cybersecurity credential at a time of heightened antitrust scrutiny.

Wiz, originally an Israeli company, offers companies a cloud security platform where organisations can collaborate to build to scale using a self-service model.

It has been going from strength-to-strength. In May, Wiz announced it had raised $US1bn at a $US12bn valuation through Lightspeed Venture Partners and Thrive Capital.

If the Wall Street Journal report is correct, Alphabet is prepared to pay double that valuation just two months later.

” At every inflection point in the Wiz story – whether it’s becoming the world’s largest cyber unicorn or being voted the #1 CNAPP by customers – I’m reminded of how far Wiz has come and struck by the tireless efforts of so many people,” says Assaf Rappaport, CEO and co-founder in a statement on the Wiz website.