Google acquired smart thermostat maker Nest in 2014 and folded it into the umbrella company Alphabet. Now, Nest Labs’ software platform team is being moved into Google itself in order to save money and to create a singular Internet of Things platform, Fortune said.
Nest Labs is currently working on the smart speaker Google Home, which was announced in May and could be a direct competitor to the Amazon Echo. In the new configuration, Nest software developers will also be able to work on fighting Amazon in other aspects of the smart home industry, while the hardware side of the team can continue to develop new products. At the moment, Nest products include multipurpose smart thermostats and smart smoke detectors.
Google executive and Android senior vice president Hiroshi Lockheimer will take the reins at the software arm of Nest Labs. He recently moved from focusing on hardware development at Android to software and platform development.
Nest co-founder Tony Fadell stepped down from his position at Alphabet in June, although he said that he may continue to advise for Alphabet and Nest. Fadell cited “intensifying friction within Nest and delays in delivering new products” as reasons for his departure. Google originally purchased Nest Labs for $3.2 billion in 2014.
Google has not commented on exactly how many Nest employees are affected by the restructuring.
Google Home is expected to be available for purchase later in 2016.
Filed Under: M2M (machine to machine)
