Nest the company behind smart thermostats and smoke detectors, has just been purchased by Google. Google paid $3.2 billion for the company, which means a Google smart house? Maybe not that. The company was founded by Tony Fadell, the guy who is responsible for the iPod.
“Nest will stay Nest,” says a company rep, though Google said the same thing when it bought Bump. We could see Nest stay a separate company for a year or two before Google re-brands or consolidates the products with one of their offerings.
Nest founder Tony Fadell explains the decision in a blog post:
So if things are going so well, why did we decide to partner with Google?
Google will help us fully realize our vision of the conscious home and allow us to change the world faster than we ever could if we continued to go it alone. We’ve had great momentum, but this is a rocket ship.
Google has the business resources, global scale and platform reach to accelerate Nest growth across hardware, software and services for the home globally. And our company visions are well aligned – we both believe in letting technology do the hard work behind the scenes so people can get on with the things that matter in life. Google is committed to helping Nest make a difference and together, we can help save more energy and keep people safe in their homes.