Waze Founder Rejected $23 Billion Google Offer, Later Sold for $32 Billion

Waze founder and CEO Asaf Rappaport revealed for the first time in a recent interview that he rejected an initial $23 billion acquisition offer from Google. Rappaport explained that the decision was made based on a gut feeling that the company, founded in 2020 by four former Adallom employees, was not yet ready to be sold. He described the moment to interviewer Roni Kuban on Kan 11's "Meeting" program, stating, "We felt in our gut that it was too early, that we still had a way to go." The decision, he admitted, "affected thousands of people."

Despite the initial rejection, Google persisted. In early 2025, the tech giant presented a revised offer of $30 billion. Rappaport initially said no again, but a subsequent meeting with Google CEO Sundar Pichai in New York led to a breakthrough. Within days, the deal was renegotiated and announced in March 2025 for $32 billion, closing this year. Rappaport stated he personally stands to gain approximately $2 billion before taxes from the sale.

The interview also touched upon Waze's controversial decision in 2023 to move its funds out of Israel during the judicial reform protests. Rappaport maintained that it was purely a business decision, not political, and called it the "right business decision in hindsight."

Rappaport also discussed his recent acquisition of Israeli media outlet Channel 13. He expressed concern about "free media being under attack" and aims to build the channel into a "patriotic, democratic, independent organization." He believes the government is attempting to force the channel's closure and suggested that a channel with a different political leaning might not face the same scrutiny.

On a personal note, Rappaport spoke about his upbringing as a single child with an absent father and his mother's strength. Reflecting on the male-dominated cybersecurity industry, he commented, "It's not easy to be gay, it's harder to be a woman." He concluded by citing Amos Oz, stating his public activities are his way of "doing some kind of world repair."