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Waze
2008FreeMap Israel, 2006
- Home
- Ra'anana
- Owner
- Sale
- 2013, about US$1B (some reports say US$1.3B)
Malaysia · Digital sovereignty · 24 Oct 2026
Waze is out.
What should Malaysia
build next?
$1B
What Google paid in 2013 for Waze, a navigation app that started in one small country. Malaysia can build the next one.
Scroll to move through the charts. Click a chart to switch its view.
$1B. Each cube is part of the roughly US$1B Google paid for Waze in 2013. Waze began in 2006 as the community project FreeMap Israel and became a company in 2008.
Four exits. The four sales side by side, coin area to scale. CyberArk went to Palo Alto Networks for US$25B (closed Feb 2026). Waze went to Google in 2013, Moovit to Intel's Mobileye in 2020 for US$900M, and Viber to Rakuten in 2014 for US$900M.
The week in numbers
2 days
From PMX's call to switch to TuJu (20 Oct) to the app buckling under demand (22 Oct)
11
Israeli-incorporated products in common use, by the same test the government applied to Waze
4
everyday categories where Malaysians rely on an Israel-linked product and no Malaysian firm competes yet
The numbers. Two days, eleven products, four open categories.
The week. 20 Oct: the National Cyber Security Committee, chaired by the PM, decides on Waze. 21 Oct: the PMO confirms an immediate public sector ban and the PM urges people to move to homegrown apps like TuJu. 22 Oct: TuJu buckles under demand. 23 Oct: the PM says a nationwide ban needs careful study first, and Waze calls the data security claims completely false. TuJu was built by the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) with Prosignal Consortium and launched on 26 Nov 2025.
Readiness check
Eight categories. Half are ready now.
8categories Malaysia
can build in
can build in
4
Ready to scale
A Malaysian product exists today. It needs users, capacity and government as a first customer.
4
Open gap
No significant Malaysian player. Software that local firms could build with focused funding.
Readiness. The ring split by category: four ready to scale, four open gaps.
Who owns them. Four were bought by a foreign tech giant: Waze by Google, Moovit by Mobileye, Viber by Rakuten, CyberArk by Palo Alto Networks. The other four are listed in New York: Check Point (Nasdaq, 1996), Wix (Nasdaq, 2013), Fiverr (NYSE, 2019) and monday.com (Nasdaq, 2021).
Category by category
Who Malaysians use now, and who could replace them
| Category | Used today | Malaysian position |
|---|---|---|
| Ready to scale | ||
| Navigation | Waze (Google) | TuJu by LLM. Needs server capacity and map coverage beyond highways. |
| Public transit app | Moovit (Mobileye) | PULSE by Prasarana. Covers Rapid KL lines; could add other operators. |
| Website & shop builders | Wix | Exabytes, EasyStore, SiteGiant already serve Malaysian SMEs. |
| Security audits | Check Point (services) | LGMS and other local firms for testing and audits. |
| Open gap | ||
| Messaging | Viber (Rakuten) | No significant local player. Strongest case for government-grade secure chat. |
| Freelance marketplace | Fiverr | GoGet covers local errands. Nothing local for global digital gigs. |
| Work management | monday.com | No significant local player in team and project tools. |
| Firewall & identity products | Check Point, CyberArk (Palo Alto) | Local firms sell services, not products. The hardest gap, and the most sensitive. |
Categories. One slab per category. Ready ones are packed tight; open gaps are loose.
Founded. When each was founded. Israeli products above the line: Check Point 1993, CyberArk 1999, Wix 2006, Waze 2008, Viber 2010, Fiverr 2010, Moovit 2012, monday.com 2012. Malaysian ones below: Exabytes 2001, EasyStore 2013, SiteGiant 2013, TuJu 2025.
The prize
What Israeli firms in these categories sold for
Acquisition price, US$ billions. Colour shows the category's Malaysian readiness.
A navigation or messaging app built for one market can still be worth close to a billion dollars. Security products are worth far more.
To scale. Linear scale, US$ billions. CyberArk dwarfs the rest.
Log scale. Log scale, so the sub-billion sales can be compared. Waze, Moovit and Viber all sold for close to US$1B.
Years to sale. Years from founding to sale. Viber took 4, Waze 5, Moovit 8 and CyberArk 27.
The ask
A ban creates demand. Malaysian firms should be ready to meet it.
Buy local first
Make government agencies the first customer for the four ready categories, starting with TuJu capacity.
Fund the gaps
Target grants and procurement at messaging, work tools and security products, where no local player exists.
Publish the test
A clear, published data-sovereignty standard tells local firms exactly what they need to build to.
Three asks. Three asks that run together.
What each covers. Buy local first covers the four ready categories. Fund the gaps names messaging, work tools and security products. Publish the test applies to all eight.
The fine print
Who is who, and how we know
Products and companies covered
Data ledger
Israel-linked products
Public transit
Moovit
2012
- Home
- Israel
- Owner
- Mobileye (Intel)
- Sale
- 2020, US$900M
Website builder
Wix
2006
- Home
- Tel Aviv
- Owner
- Nasdaq: WIX, listed 2013
- Sale
- Not sold
Security audits, firewall
Check Point
1993
- Home
- Tel Aviv
- Owner
- Nasdaq: CHKP, listed 1996
- Sale
- Not sold
Messaging
Viber
2010
- Home
- Tel Aviv
- Owner
- Rakuten
- Sale
- 2014, US$900M
Freelance marketplace
Fiverr
2010
- Home
- Tel Aviv
- Owner
- NYSE: FVRR, listed 2019
- Sale
- Not sold
Work management
monday.com
2012
- Home
- Tel Aviv
- Owner
- Nasdaq: MNDY, listed 2021
- Sale
- Not sold
Identity security
CyberArk
1999
- Home
- Petah Tikva
- Owner
- Palo Alto Networks
- Sale
- 2026, US$25B
Malaysian products
Navigation
TuJu
2025launched 26 Nov
- Home
- Malaysia
- Owner
- Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) with Prosignal Consortium
- Sale
- Not sold
Hosting and website builder
Exabytes
2001
- Home
- Penang
- Owner
- Private. Says it serves 160,000+ businesses in 121 countries
- Sale
- Not sold
Shop builder
EasyStore
2013
- Home
- Puchong
- Owner
- Private
- Sale
- Not sold
Shop builder
SiteGiant
2013
- Home
- Malaysia
- Owner
- Private. Says it serves 20,000+ merchants
- Sale
- Not sold
Methodology
01
Scope
Consumer and business software categories where a widely used product is incorporated in Israel or was founded there. "11 Israeli-incorporated products" counts companies meeting the government's Waze test in our full ledger. Surveillance tools sold only to governments are left out.
02
Readiness
Ready: a Malaysian product competes today. Open gap: no significant Malaysian player. Ratings are our judgement from public information, not a product audit.
03
Limits
Shows corporate links only; it does not claim any product leaks Malaysian user data. Acquisition prices are announced headline values. Figures as of 24 Oct 2026; ownership changes often.
Sources
Bernama · 21 Oct 2026Govt bans civil servants from using Waze over data security concerns.bernama.com ↗
Malay Mail · 20 Oct 2026From Waze to TuJu? Anwar backs Malaysian navigation app over data security concerns.malaymail.com ↗
Malay Mail · 21 Oct 2026PMO confirms civil servants barred from using Waze over Israel data security risks. Also covers TuJu's developers and launch date.malaymail.com ↗
The Star · 23 Oct 2026Govt might ban Waze in Malaysia if alternative navigation apps available, says Anwar.thestar.com.my ↗
Bloomberg · 22 Oct 2026Malaysian traffic app draws ridicule after officials banned Waze.bloomberg.com ↗
Lowyat.NET · 21 Oct 2026Anwar Ibrahim encourages Malaysians to use TuJu instead of Waze.lowyat.net ↗
New Straits Times · 21 Oct 2026MPs seek explanation for Waze ban on civil servants.nst.com.my ↗
Reuters via Ynet · 21 Oct 2026Malaysia bans Google-owned Waze for government workers over Israeli origins.ynetnews.com ↗
Calcalist · Oct 2026Malaysia bars civil servants from Waze; Google acquired Waze in 2013 for about $1B.calcalistech.com ↗
Bernama · 21 Oct 2026Ban on Waze reflects Malaysia's commitment, says Cinta Gaza Malaysia.bernama.com ↗
CRN Asia · Feb 2026Palo Alto Networks completes $25B acquisition of CyberArk.crnasia.com ↗
NoCamels · May 2020Moovit acquired in a $900M deal, now part of Mobileye.nocamels.com ↗
TechCrunch · 2016Israeli technology and the future of transportation (Rakuten's $900M Viber deal).techcrunch.com ↗
The EdgeLGMS eyes SME market amid rise in cyberattacks.theedgemarkets.com ↗
Company websitesExabytes, EasyStore, SiteGiant, GoGet, Prasarana (PULSE). Also the Exabytes about page, the SiteGiant story and EasyStore on CB Insights.exabytes.my · easystore.co · sitegiant.my
Wikipedia · checked 24 Oct 2026Founding years, headquarters, listings and sale prices.Waze · Moovit · Viber · Wix · Fiverr · monday.com · Check Point · CyberArk