Google Invests $450M in ADT to Begin Smart Home Security Partnership
Google is investing $450 million in popular home security provider ADT. The investment is part of a new partnership between the two companies to have ADT and Google Nest smart home devices work in tandem in both business and technical terms.
ADT Nest
The deal combines research and sales collaboration. ADT will add Google Nest products to the list of items sold by 20,000 technicians as both companies work to expand their reach to more families and small businesses. That’s just the first part of the deal, however, as ADT and Google are each investing $150 million into developing, marketing, and training people to sell their combination of services. The shared research into the next generation of security technology will eventually lead to ADT’s security monitoring operating through the Nest system, including using Google Assistant as voice control. The monetary investment by Google is significant, giving the tech giant a 6.6% stake in ADT. Investors are apparently very happy about the partnership judging from the way ADT’s share price more than doubled ahead of the stock market opening on Monday.
“Over time, Nest’s devices, powered by Google’s machine learning capabilities will enhance ADT’s security monitoring and become the cornerstone of ADT’s smart home offering,” Nest vice president and general manager Rishi Chandra said in a statement. “The goal is to give customers fewer false alarms, more ways to receive alarm events, and better detection of potential incidents inside and around the home. It will also provide people with more helpful notifications that make everyday life more convenient, like package detection. ADT customers will also have access to Nest Aware, a service that keeps people informed about important events at home, including intelligent alerts and event history recording for up to 30 days.”
Smarter Homes
The arrangement with ADT goes well with the picture of Nest-powered smart homes Google has been painting of late, especially the closer connection between Google Assistant and Nest devices showcased at Google’s recent virtual summit. For instance, the ability to automatically run different routines depending on whether there are people home is very useful for home security. And the revision of the Nest Aware subscription service, along with native support for sensors like smoke and carbon monoxide detectors gives Nest and Google Assistant a head start in integrating with ADT. The same goes for voice security as Google enhanced the setup process for Voice Match to make it more secure and accurate a couple of months ago.
All of those changes as well as the deal with ADT go back to Google’s plan to be as easy and convenient as a platform for smart homes as possible. The security partnerships and tech improvements go hand-in-hand with the Nest Wifi router built with Google Assistant and incorporating SiriusXM. Now Google can make a stronger claim about Nest keeping homes and businesses safe by leveraging ADT’s reputation and make future products a merger of both brands.
Follow @voicebotai Follow @erichschwartz
Google Nest Aware Adds Suspicious Sound Alerts, Drops Subscription and Device Prices
Google Assistant Brings Voice Match to All Compatible Devices, Opens Up Default Speaker Choices
