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Google’s $32 billion Wiz deal has officially closed.
The search giant said last year it would buy the cybersecurity firm to bolster its cloud business.
It’s Google’s biggest-ever acquisition.
Google’s $32 billion acquisition of cybersecurity firm Wiz has officially closed.
The search giant announced on Wednesday that Wiz will join Google Cloud at a moment when AI is making cloud security more vital. Wiz offers a platform that helps customers protect data across different cloud services.
“In today’s AI era, more businesses and governments are migrating their most important data and systems to the cloud and turning to agile and continuous software development,” Google wrote in a post announcing the news.
“As these organizations operate in a multicloud environment and adopt AI, attackers are using AI to operate with greater speed and sophistication,” the company added.
Google announced last year that it intended to buy Wiz for $32 billion in the search giant’s biggest-ever acquisition.
The deal, which was also viewed as a test for President Donald Trump’s antitrust agenda, could be a boon for Google’s cloud business as it pursues customers for its AI products.
Google said Wiz would remain a multicloud offering after the acquisition, meaning it will continue to be made available through rival cloud providers such as Amazon and Microsoft.
“Our mission remains as bold as ever: to protect everything organizations build and run,” Assaf Rappaport, the CEO of Wiz, said in a blog post. “And we are still just getting started.”
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Read the memo Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison sent about the Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
The companies made it official on Friday with an announcement.
Netflix, which was also vying for WBD, declined to raise its bid for the company on Thursday.
Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery have made it official, and CEO David Ellison sent a memo out to staff about the merger.
Paramount said in an official announcement on Friday that it had entered into a definitive merger agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery, giving the David Ellison-run media firm valuable assets such as HBO, CNN, and DC Studios.
Netflix, which was also vying for WBD, declined to raise its bid for the company on Thursday, effectively walking away from its offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio assets.
Paramount made multiple offers for all of Warner Bros. Discovery, including its film studio, HBO, and cable networks such as CNN, rather than the slimmer asset package Netflix had pursued. WBD accepted its revised $31-per-share offer that Netflix declined to counter.
Politics may have played a role in the bidding war. President Donald Trump publicly expressed disapproval of Netflix’s bid, and Republican lawmakers sharply criticized the company at a recent congressional hearing, accusing it of promoting “woke” programming. Trump had also demanded that Netflix fire a board member.
Investor sentiment compounded those headwinds. Netflix shareholders had been signaling discomfort with the scale and risk of the acquisition for weeks, dragging down the stock. Shares rebounded sharply once it became clear that Paramount’s bid was gaining momentum.
Read the memo Ellison sent:
Team,Today we announced that Paramount has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. You can read the full details in our press release here.I want to begin by thanking each of you for your patience, resilience, and commitment throughout this process. It has not been easy. Shortly after launching the new Paramount in August, we announced our plans to pursue this transaction. The months since have required a lot of hard work and resolve as together we have navigated the complexities and uncertainties that come with a deal of this scale.That perseverance has brought us to this exciting moment.By uniting two iconic studios, complementary streaming platforms, established cable and linear networks, expanding international businesses, world-class intellectual property, and the extraordinary talent behind all of this, we have a rare opportunity to help shape the future of our industry. Together, we can build a more dynamic, more competitive and more creatively ambitious company — one that better serves storytellers, entertains audiences around the world, and delivers long-term value for shareholders.From day one, our vision has been clear: to build the next-generation global media and entertainment company. Acquiring WBD meaningfully accelerates that ambition. It expands our reach and enhances our ability to create the world’s most compelling stories and experiences.While we have signed a definitive agreement, the transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and WBD shareholder approval, with a vote expected in the early spring of 2026. Until closing, Paramount and WBD will continue to operate as separate companies.I know you will have questions about what this means for our company and for you and your teams. And as I said on Day 1, you have my commitment that we will be as direct as possible and share important updates as they become available.Thank you again for your patience throughout this process and for your continued dedication. I am confident that, together, we will seize this incredible opportunity and build something truly extraordinary.Let’s go!David
Billionaire Larry Page is peacing out of California.
The Google cofounder has cut ties between California and many of his assets that risked exposing him to a proposed new wealth tax in the state, meeting an end-of-2025 deadline, according to filings reviewed by Business Insider.
Page’s family office, Koop, was converted out of California in late December and incorporated in Delaware, per filings with both states. Page converted several other entities to Delaware, including Flu Lab LLC — a vehicle he has used to fund research on tackling influenza and lists its principal office address in Nevada — and another entity named One Aero, which has funded his flying car ventures and lists its principal office address in Florida.
A filing was also made to convert Dynatomics, LLC from California to Delaware with a new principal address in Keller, Texas. Page launched Dynatomics, a new startup focused on applying AI to aircraft manufacturing, in 2023, Business Insider previously reported. A source close to Page said that the team, run by Chris Anderson, continues to work out of California.
Anderson and representatives for Page’s family office did not respond to requests for comment.
The New York Times reported in December that Page had told people he was considering moving to Florida because of a proposed ballot measure that would tax the state’s wealthiest residents. The proposal, if passed successfully, would mean that any California resident worth more than $1 billion would be taxed 5% of their assets.
Under California law, residency is determined by the nature of a person’s ties to the state, with factors such as the time spent in the state and the maintenance of substantial business ties taken into account. If the ballot measure is approved in November, it would take effect retroactively for residents living in California as of January 1, 2026.
A source close to Page said the Google cofounder had already left the state. Whether Page’s move is temporary could not be learned.
Page is ranked the second-richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Page’s family converts other entities to Delaware
Besides his family office and funding vehicles, Page converted out an LLC that Business Insider previously identified as being used to purchase islands in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, from California to Delaware, with a new address listed in Florida.
A separate LLC Page used to purchase an Island in Fiji was also converted out toDelaware.
Page’s wife, the scientist Lucinda Southworth, founded a marine-conservation charity named Oceankind. Filings show that Oceankind converted out of California to Delaware in December.
Delaware has become a popular state for businesses to incorporate due to its favorable tax structure, privacy, and its home to a court system specifically designed to handle corporate disputes. The state does not require LLCs to disclose the names and addresses of directors when incorporating, providing them with an extra layer of privacy.
Privacy is especially important to Page, whose family office is shrouded in a level of secrecy unparalleled by most and carefully managed by its CEO, Wayne Osborne.
Cristina Rosado, an attorney who handles many of Page and Southworth’s assets, signed several of the California filings.
Page incorporated three entities in Florida last year, as previously reported by The New York Times. A Koop LLC was incorporated in Florida in January 2025, per filings reviewed by Business Insider. It could not be confirmed if it belongs to Page.
California’s billionaire tax proposal
The California billionaire tax proposal faced some opposition from leaders in venture capital and politics. In a post on X in December, venture capitalist Vinod Khosla said the proposed measure would mean California would lose its most important taxpayers and “net off much worse.”
“Long term damage unless legislature bans wealth taxes,” he added. “Easier to equalize taxes on work income and capital gains at the national level.
Matt Mahan, Democratic mayor of San Jose, California, on Monday described the tax as “a political plan that will sink California’s innovation economy.”
White House AI czar David Sacks has criticized the proposal and said it will backfire. He has also said he believes Miami and Austin will overtake New York and San Francisco for finance and tech, respectively. He announced this month that his venture capital firm, Craft Ventures, had opened an office in Austin.
Last month, celebrity lawyer Alex Spiro wrote a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, warning that the proposed billionaire tax would “trigger an exodus of capital and innovation from California,” Business Insider previously reported.
Have something to share? Contact this reporter via email at hlangley@businessinsider.com or Signal at hughlangley.01. Use a personal email address and a non-work device; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.
Get your masks ready: Season four of “Bridgerton” is coming to Netflix in 2026. Part one premieres on January 29, and part two will come a month later on February 26.
This season will follow the story of Benedict Bridgerton and Sophie Baek in a “Cinderella”-esque tale.
Season three of the Netflix series, which centered on Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington’s (Nicola Coughlan) relationship, concluded with the release of part two in June 2024.
In giving Polin a happy ending, “Bridgerton” also teased that Benedict (Luke Thompson), the second-eldest sibling, would get the main character treatment next season. His status as the lead has officially been confirmed, and new details are slowly being announced — and now, fans are able to watch the first trailer for season four as a Christmas present from the streamer.
Here’s everything we know about season four of “Bridgerton” so far.
Benedict’s love story will be the focus of season 4
Yerin Ha as Sophie Baek and Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton in season four of “Bridgerton.”
Liam Daniel/Netflix
An official announcement about Benedict being the season four lead was made in July 2024. In a video posted by Netflix, Thompson is handed a suit for the masquerade ball. But eagle-eyed fans weren’t surprised, because this was all teased in the season three finale that aired in June.
As Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) prepared to head off to Scotland with Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd), John Stirling (Victor Alli), and Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza) in the episode, she assured Benedict that she’d only be gone until next year.
“Do you think Mama would ever let me miss her Masquerade Ball?” she said.
Benedict, still not ready to settle down, replied, “I will be there, hiding out behind a mask, avoiding eligible ladies like the plague.”
That not-so-subtle moment was a nod to Benedict’s novel “An Offer from a Gentleman,” which is part of Julia Quinn’s “Bridgerton” book series.
In the third “Cinderella”-inspired book, Benedict meets a woman named Sophie Beckett at a masquerade ball. Unbeknownst to him, Sophie is a servant to a rude stepmother named Araminta Gunningworth. By the end of the novel, they express their love for each other and get married.
The show has changed Sophie’s last name from Beckett to Baek to reflect actor Yerin Ha’s Korean heritage.
“A name is the first bit of identity that you share with the world, and that’s why changing a name can be so powerful,” Ha told Tudum. “To make Sophie’s name fit someone who looks like me is really empowering. All credit to Jess Brownell, our showrunner.”
Netflix’s official logline for next season reads: “The fourth season of ‘Bridgerton’ turns its focus to bohemian second son Benedict (Luke Thompson). Despite his elder and younger brothers both being happily married, Benedict is loath to settle down — until he meets a captivating Lady in Silver at his mother’s masquerade ball.”
Here’s the first full official trailer for the fourth season.
‘Dune: Prophecy’ actor Yerin Ha will play Sophie Baek, Benedict’s love interest
Ha was most recently seen on the Paramount+ TV series adaptation of the “Halo” video game franchise and HBO’s “Dune” spin-off series “Dune: Prophecy.”
Despite the character being based on Cinderella, Brownell assured fans that Sophie is “no damsel in distress.”
Yerin Ha as Sophie.
Liam Daniel/Netflix
“She is someone who has chess moves and is always thinking two, three steps ahead,” Brownell said at the “Bridgerton” virtual fan event called “Season of Love” in February 2025. “So she’s absolutely gonna throw Benedict for a loop.”
‘Harry Potter’ actor Katie Leung is among the new cast members
Katie Leung, who played Cho Chang in the “Harry Potter” film series, will portray Lady Araminta Gao.
Her character description reads: “Twice-married and twice-widowed, Araminta has two daughters debuting on the marriage mart this season and she’s feeling the pressure to get at least one of her girls married off. Fabulous, discerning, and blunt, Araminta does not respond well when anything — or anyone — threatens her standing in society.”
Isabella Wei, Katie Leung, and Michelle Mao in “Bridgerton.”
Liam Daniel/Netflix
Michelle Mao will play Rosamund Li, Araminta’s eldest daughter who’s “beautiful, vain, and eager to please her mother.” According to her official description, Rosamund will be vying for Benedict’s heart when she hits the marriage mart.
Isabella Wei will play Posy Li, Araminta’s youngest daughter, who’s described as kind and chatty.
Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan are back as Colin and Penelope Bridgerton in season 4
Colin and Penelope in season four.
Liam Daniel/Netflix
At the “Season of Love” event, Brownell said that the new installment will show Colin as a “wife guy” and the couple raising their baby, whose name has yet to be revealed.
Brownell previously told TheWrap that she’d like the pair to continue on the show beyond season four because she thinks there are more stories to be told. Newton similarly told Teen Vogue that he’s committed to staying on the show indefinitely.
Brownell elaborated on Polin’s place in season four in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying that the couple will shift to being part of the larger ensemble.
“I do think that there is a bit more to tell story-wise with Whistledown,” she said. “Whistledown has been the narrative glue of every season. Now that Penelope’s out publicly as Whistledown, I want to see more of what that’s like. So, we will continue with them next season for sure.”
On December 21, the “Bridgerton” X account announced that Colin and Penelope’s newborn son, Elliot, would be part of the season’s story.
In addition to the confirmed returns of Coughlan and Newton, Julie Andrews will also be back as the voice of Lady Whistledown.
Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley will also appear as Anthony and Kate Bridgerton
Simone Ashley as Kate and Jonathan Bailey as Anthony in season three, episode seven of “Bridgerton.”
Netflix
Kanthony fans have been wondering how long Kate (Simone Ashley) and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) will stay on the show after leading season two.
Previous season leads have largely stepped away after their story arcs concluded, but Anthony and Kate are the new heads of the Bridgerton household, which means they have to stick around.
In season three, Anthony and Kate show up in four episodes, often disappearing on trips around the world. The show writers likely did this to explain the characters’ disappearance so Ashley and Bailey could film other projects (Bailey, in particular, was pulling triple duty, also working on “Wicked” and “Fellow Travelers”).
In season three, episode seven, Anthony and Kate leave for a trip to India so Kate can visit her home and give birth to their first child. Though this looks like a convenient way to write the couple off the show entirely, that’s not the case.
Brownell told Entertainment Weekly in June that Anthony and Kate heading to India allows the two actors to work on other projects “while still leaving the door open for them to return when and if they’re able.”
“So the India send-off is a plot device in certain ways that allows us to leave the door open,” she said.
Fans will see “more of their marital bliss and seeing their baby as well,” Brownell said.
However, fans didn’t get a glimpse of them in the first trailer.
Hannah Dodd and Victor Alli will be back as Francesca and John, too
Francesca and John in season four.
Liam Daniel/Netflix
After tying the knot at the end of season three — and meeting her husband’s intriguing cousin, Michaela — Francesca and John will be back for at least the beginning of season four before heading back to Scotland.
Fans of the book series know that Francesca’s time as the series’ main character is coming. Her book, the sixth in the series, is called “When He Was Wicked.”
We won’t spoil the story for anyone who hasn’t read Julia Quinn’s books (though you can read about Francesca’s book here), but it’s safe to say that the show made one of its biggest departures from the book series when it introduced John’s cousin, Michaela. In the novel, John’s beloved cousin is named Michael.
Season 4 will expand the storylines of other ‘Bridgerton’ characters
Eloise in season four.
Liam Daniel/Netflix
At the virtual event, Brownell teased where fans will see the “Bridgerton” characters at the start of season four.
The showrunner alluded to Lady Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) continuing her flirtations with Lord Marcus Anderson (Daniel Francis) and moving beyond the giggling that defined their season three interactions.
Lady Violet and Lord Anderson in season four.
Liam Daniel/Netflix
Violet will also be busy trying to prepare her unmarried kids for the future. While Francesca got married last season, her siblings Eloise and Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) haven’t reached that milestone yet.
“Violet is once again trying to put Eloise on the marriage mart and she’s absolutely dreading it,” Brownell said.
On the flip side, Hyacinth “is desperate to pre-debut early. And the two of them get paired together this season for comedic results.”
Meanwhile, Gregory (Will Tilston), the youngest son, is “going to get sent off to Eton for a little while, but that gives him time to come back no longer a gangly teenager but a young man.”
As for the rest of the Ton, Brownell said that fans will see more of Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), who has a new dynamic with Penelope now that she knows who Lady Whistledown is. Additionally, season four will expand on Queen Charlotte and Lady Agatha Danbury’s (Adjoa Andoh) relationship.
Brimsley, Queen Charlotte, and Lady Danbury in season four.
Liam Daniel/Netflix
Lady Danbury, who often vacillates between meddling and advising other characters, will help Will (Martins Imhangbe) and Alice Mondrich (Emma Naomi) navigate a new challenge as they settle into being members of society.
This isn’t the last we’ve seen of Cressida Cowper
Jessica Madsen as Cressida Cowper in season three, episode seven of “Bridgerton.”
Liam Daniel/Netflix
Season three of “Bridgerton” gives more insight into Cressida’s (Jessica Madsen) difficult home life and the lengths she’ll go to in order to get out of her situation.
During the season, she attempts to take credit for Lady Whistledown so she can receive the reward money and avoid marrying an older man, but the plan backfires. Then, when she learns that Penelope is Lady Whistledown, she attempts to blackmail her with the intention of using the money to escape town and avoid being sent off to live with her aunt in Wales.
But Cressida is outsmarted and is last seen being sent away in a carriage to live with her relative after tarnishing the Cowper family’s reputation.
“It felt a little early in this season for her to get a happily ever after just because we’ve watched two seasons of her being a real bully to Penelope. She has a little bit more growth to do, but I do want to give her a happy ending eventually,” she told EW.
“We want to see more from Jessica Madsen,” Brownell told THR. “So we wanted to leave her story a little bit more open-ended so that we can craft an ending for her in future seasons.”
Showrunner Jess Brownell said the season 4 theme is ‘forbidden love’
Yerin Ha as Sophie Beckett in season four of “Bridgerton.”
Liam Daniel/Netflix
At the virtual event, Brownell said that every season follows a romantic trope, and season four is all about “forbidden love.”
“That class clash gives us a very serious obstacle and the stakes could not be higher this year, so it’s really a juicy one,” she said.
“The theme of the season is really about true love being somewhere in between fantasy and reality,” Brownell added.
The new season will delve into Benedict’s status as a member of high society and Sophie’s role as a maid. And after spending three seasons focusing on the happenings of the wealthy characters, season four will broaden the world to follow the working-class characters below them.
“Because you are now so familiar with the upstairs, I think viewers know just how difficult a pairing between a gentleman and a maid will be,” Brownell said.
Ha said that Sophie’s job as a maid at Penwood House, where she works for Lady Araminta, is high stakes.
“Living under that Penwood House is a mode of survival for her because if she doesn’t, then she has nowhere else to go,” Ha said. “I think it also highlights just how hard it was being a maid in that era. You mess up and your life can turn upside down in a second, and I think we’re trying really hard to portray those dynamics.”
Brownell said that the all-important masquerade ball where Benedict and Sophie meet will be “a very large chunk of the first episode.” She also said that the aesthetic of the ball was inspired by William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and the vibe is “dark and mysterious and fairytale-like.”
Fans can see a glimpse of Benedict looking enamored by Sophie at the masquerade ball in a sneak peek clip posted by Netflix in May.
Aside from the masquerade ball, season four will pull additional elements from the book, like My Cottage — which is Benedict’s countryside home — and a nearby lake that fans of the novel will be familiar with.
“I do think that this season is the most faithful to the book,” Brownell said. “It really lends itself to adaptation plot-wise. It’s very similar.”
Still, some aspects were changed for the Netflix adaptation, like character motivations.
“Benedict is quite different from the book just in that Luke Thompson brings this wonderful sensitivity and self-awareness to the character,” Brownell said. “So in Benedict’s story of trying to woo Sophie, I think the character is a bit more delicate and thoughtful, perhaps, about the way he goes about it.”
Season 4 of ‘Bridgerton’ premieres on January 29
Sophie and Benedict in season four.
Liam Daniel/Netflix
Brownell told the Los Angeles Times that they chose to film the season during the fall partly for storytelling purposes, but also out of practicality.
“It’s still going to be just as lush and colorful, but just more in those warm fall colors instead of the pastels,” she said. “There will still be some pastels, so it won’t look like a totally different show.”
Netflix confirmed that season four will consist of episodes, just like the past installments. The two parts will air on January 29 and February 26.
