Google acquires smart-home startup Nest Labs for $3.2 billion

Google has made its next big acquisition and it happens to be Nest Labs, the makers of the Nest Learning Thermostat and the Protect smoke detector. The deal has been signed for a whopping $3.2 billion, and the amount will be paid by Google completely in cash.   In a press release, announcing the acquisition, Google said that Nest will continue to operate independently, under the leadership of its founder, Tony Fadell. The Internet giant said that the home device maker would retain its own brand identity and that the transaction, subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in a few months.   Nest Labs has been a prime player when it has come to the “Internet of things” niche and this will only strengthen its position further. For those not in the know, the niche caters to making everyday objects adhere to Internet-like structures. Undoubtedly set to be the next big thing, Google has already started betting its money on the field.   Google explained Nest’s mission as one to “reinvent unloved but important devices in the home”. For example, Nest has been selling its Learning Thermostat and smoke detectors for a while now. The connected devices help you control it using apps remotely, like the thermostat can be controlled to raise the temperature up or down.   The apps, the interface and the devices itself look very sleek and polished since Fadell has been an ex-Apple employee, popularly known as the “Father of the iPod”. Nest, though, has had a long association with Google, with Google Ventures leading its Series B round of financing in 2011. Like the blog post announcing the acquisition on the website reads, it is sort of a homecoming for Nest Labs.   While Google has not announced what it plans to do with Nest and its technology, Matt Rogers, Founder and VP of Engineering at Nest has said that he expects to see a lot of “cool stuff” with Google and Nest products in the future. Meanwhile, Nest will continue to operate as usual. We’re expecting integration of Google products – especially language tools – having a better integration with Nest in the future as well as the company trying to bring the concept of connected homes to many countries across the world soon.