Google and Nest’s hardware teams are joining forces

Google acquired home automation company Nest back in 2014 for $3.2 billion. Now Google is integrating the smaller company even more by merging the Nest and Google Hardware teams into one working group. As noted by CNET, Google's AI, which powers its Home smart speakers, can now be more easily integrated with Nest hardware.

CNET points to an interview with Google's Rick Osterloh that helps make more sense out of the announcement. "All of Google's investments in machine learning and AI, they can very clearly benefit Nest products. It just makes sense to be developing them together," Osterloh said in an interview. "It's the natural thing to evolve to."

Both companies are doing pretty well in the world of connected home devices. Nest claims that it has sold more than 11 million of its own gadgets since 2011, while Google has reported selling tens of millions of devices, including 6.4 million speakers between October of 2017 and the end of last year.

The end result will be a more focused smart home initiative that connects with Nest's mission "to create a more thoughtful home, one that takes care for the people inside it and the world around it," as Google wrote in a blog post. The company will combine hardware, software and services from both teams into one unit to create new services and hardware for your home. "We've had a head start on collaborating since our teams already work closely together, and today we're excited to make Nest an integral part of Google's big bet on hardware," wrote Google.