Google is dumping another $150 million into its Nest product partnership with ADT

Continuing to heavily invest in its new partnership with established security company ADT, Google is adding to the $450 million it already put into the company in exchange for its 6.6% stake ownership a few years back. As reported on the ADT blog itself, Google is now committing another 150 million, bringing its total investment to a total of $300 million.

“A smart home should take care of the people in it while also helping to make sure they are protected and safe,”

“Our work with ADT is building the next generation of smart home security solutions.”

Rishi Chandra, Vice President and General Manager of Google Nest

Many have wondered why no new Nest security devices have launched, and well, this is why. Nest has set its sights on ADT with hopes that it will be able to build smarter, and more secure technology. ADT has been around for nearly a hundred years doing what it does best, and I think that it’s wise of Google to go to the pros instead of continuing to make its own immature hardware and software to protect your most valuable assets – your life and the lives of your family as well as your belongings. This may be just my opinion, but I’m sure many would agree that Nest Secure was not the most reliable product.

More often than not, my security system would go offline, and the Nest Detect sensors would simply refuse to work for 8-12 hours at a time. After attempting everything to fix them, they magically re-enabled themselves and began doing their job again.

The $150 million Google is dumping into ADT (subject to the achievement of certain milestones) will be utilized for “co-marketing, product development, technology and employee training to advance the partnership”. Along with Google, State Farm is grabbing a 15% stake in ADT ownership by investing its own $300 million for similar purposes.

I have to say that I’m excited for the possibility of a Nest-branded smart security system dropping in a few years time that’s chock full of Google smarts. Knowing that my home is protected by ADT, a long-standing and reputable company puts my mind at ease more than if I were to purchase something solely created by Google again. However, as with all things Google puts its fingers in, it creates concerns in its users about data collection and use. I don’t think this ADT partnership is any different, and I’ll be interested in seeing how this all plays out in the end.