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As further evidence that this is perhaps the year 

the Internet of everything really becomes a thing

 for Nest, the home automation company that pioneered smart thermostats and lately, 

.
"The Internet of things" describes adding connectivity and intelligence to everyday devices, giving them special functions. The 

 by using the data about how warm or cool you like to keep your home to adjust itself intuitively so users are always comfortable.


Nest started in 2010 with a vision to "create a conscious home," writes its co-founder, Tony Fadell. "A home that is more thoughtful, intuitive — and nice to look at. No one had cracked the code and we were confident we could do it with the right product, the right team, and focus." The company is reportedly in the process of building a platform for other connected devices in your home, and clearly, Google knew that.


Today, Nest has 300 employees in three countries and its devices are used in homes around the world. Google Ventures, the venture capital firm that's fully funded by Google, 

 one of the main backers of Nest, according to Re/Code.
So why sell to the search behemoth, Google? Fadell's blog post with the announcement 


Nest will retain its own brand, and brand identity, says its founder. But fears that the company that already controls so much of our data will now know even more 

.
The Nest thermostat is priced at $249 and its Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detector is $129.  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Science

Elise Hu

Author

Google now owns Nest, paving the way for smart home automation to be this year's big thing.

Google buys Nest, may soon know how cool you like your home

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