It was just a matter of time before it happened. Google Inc. today announced it was acquiring the smart home device maker Nest Labs for US $3.2 billion in an all-cash deal.
Nest is a company that started working on a day-to-day use product which not many had paid attention to before – the humble thermostat – in 2010. According to the terms of the acquisition, Nest will maintain a separate brand identity. Founder Tony Fadell, who worked on the original iPod at Apple, will continue to lead the company.
Larry Page, Chief Executive Officer of Google, said in the press release announcing the deal: Nest’s founders, Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, have built a tremendous team that we are excited to welcome into the Google family. They’re already delivering amazing products you can buy right now–thermostats that save energy and smoke/CO alarms that can help keep your family safe.
Fadell said in a blog post that partnering with Google would help Nest “change the world faster than we ever could if we continued to go it alone.” Here’s what he wrote: When Matt and I started Nest in 2010, we were determined to change our homes and the world around us. Starting a business focused on the lowly thermostat seemed like a crazy idea at the time, but it made all the sense in the world to us. That little device that went unnoticed and unchanged year after year on the walls of our homes was a lost opportunity to save energy and money. We knew we could do better.
Fadell further wrote: 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.
Today, Nest Labs is partner with some of the largest energy companies in the US, plus has a team of 25,000+ certified professionals who help install Nest in the US and Canada.
Google’s decision to acquire Nest is not surprising. Acknowledged by Fadell, Google has been involved one way or the other with this startup’s almost 4-year history, even before Nest was officially launched. At the 2011 TED Conference, Erik Charlton and Fadell had informed Google’s Sergey Brin on what they planned to do, and had shown him a video and an early model of the Nest Learning Thermostat. In May 2011, Google Ventures had led the Series B round of financing, and in 2012, Series C.
From the customers’point of view, Matt Rogers, co-founder wrote: Nest will continue supporting iOS, Android and modern web browsers “so you can check in on your home and control the temperature from wherever you are.” Plus, all warranties still stand.
Image Credit: Nest Labs
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