Google Inc. has reportedly made an all-cash deal with the home automation company Nest Labs for $3.2 billion in an attempt to reach out to new markets.
Google has been looking for ways to connect to new markets including advanced research on robotics, devices and self-driving cars to high-speed Internet access. Now, it has made yet another remarkable strategy by buying Nest Labs popular for its sensor-driven, Wi-Fi enabled, self-learning, programmable thermostats and smoke detectors.
Though the Internet giant's engineering expertise has resulted to major advances in technology, it is still struggling in producing hardware products that will connect well with the consumers.
With the acquisition, the company believes that they can get their much needed assistance to get its merchandises more incorporated into consumers' homes.
Additionally, Google is set to deliver a hopeful line of products and a prized design team headed by Tony Fadell, the "godfather" of iPod, which also happens to be CEO of Nest Labs.
Wedbush analyst Shyam Patil told Reuters, "Nest Labs appears to be focused on thermostats and smoke alarms, but it's not far-fetched to see Google expanding this technology into other devices over time."
Even if the collaboration looks promising, a lot of consumers were against it and expressed concerns about the privacy implications of deal.
In defense, Fadell said that his company has meticulously discussed privacy issues with Google during their meetings.
"It took us months to get comfortable that they are going to bring to the table the things we need for scale and to realize our decade-long vision and that they really truly respected what we did," he said to Reuters.
Furthermore, though the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company has been acquired, it can still continue its own products.
The deal, which was the peak of "countless" discussions that started in the summer of 2013, is expected to close in few months time after getting regulatory approval.
