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Google Nest

Palo Alto, CA

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Nest was founded in 2010 by former Apple engineers Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, launching the Nest Learning Thermostat in 2011, a device that used machine learning to automatically adjust home temperature based on observed household patterns rather than requiring manual scheduling. Google acquired Nest in 2014 for approximately $3.2 billion, one of Google's largest acquisitions at the time, and the company's product line was later folded more directly into Google's broader hardware division alongside Google Home smart speakers under the unified Google Nest brand. Nest's product line expanded significantly beyond its original thermostat into smart smoke detectors, security cameras, and video doorbells, positioning the brand as a comprehensive smart home ecosystem competing directly against Amazon's Alexa-based device network. Google Nest's combination of its origins in Apple engineers' machine-learning thermostat innovation and its landmark $3.2 billion acquisition by Google has made it one of the most historically significant smart home brands in the industry.

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