Googles Nest to Acquire Dropcam for $555m

dropcam multiNest Labs, the smart thermostat and smoke alarm company owned by Google, has made its own acquisition, purchasing home-monitoring camera startup Dropcam for around $555m (£326m).

Dropcam, which enables users to monitor homes and offices via its camera hardware and software, merges well with Nests existing line of smart home automation devices, and represents another step by Google into the smart home market. Nest was acquired by Google earlier this year for $3.2bn, the second largest acquisition the online giant has ever made.

In a post on their blog, Nest confirmed that Dropcam will be subject to the same privacy policy that Nest uses, meaning that customer data will not be shared with anyone, including Google, without customer permission. In the same post, the Nest team said they plan on working together with the Dropcam team to “reinvent products that will help shape the future of the conscious home” but that for the moment, little would change in how both businesses operated.

“Nest and Dropcam are kindred spirits. Both were born out of frustration with outdated, complicated products that do the opposite of making life better,” said Dropcam CEO and co-founder Greg Duffy in his own blogpost. “After numerous conversations with Nest founders Tony and Matt, it was clear that we shared a similar vision.

“Nest cares as much about customers, privacy and product experiences as we do. Our products and technology are a natural fit and by joining up with Nest we can fully realise our vision.”