Smart thermostat and connected home device marker Nest which was acquired by Google in January has announced it is acquiring Dropcam in a move the two firms say will help keep home owners connected to their homes no matter where they are in the world.
According to Matt Rogers, Nest’s founder and head of Engineering, “Dropcam built their company from the ground up with the goal of helping people stay connected to the things they care about. In a matter of a few short years, their team has managed to create products that change how people interact with their homes. So naturally, we couldn’t help but feel our companies would be a good match.”
Founded in 2009 by Greg Duffy and Aamir Virani Dropcam is a cloud-based Wi-Fi video monitoring service with free live streaming, two-way talk and remote viewing that helps home owners stay connected with places, people and pets from wherever they are. The two co-founders were inspired after they saw both their dads struggle with “IP cameras” and traditional security cameras that were hard to use, expensive and low quality.
Dropcam and Nest will work together to reinvent products that will help shape the future of the conscious home and bring their shared vision to more and more people around the world. Dropcam products will still be sold online and in stores. And Dropcam customers will still continue to use their Dropcam accounts but after the deal is sealed, Nest will incorporate Dropcam into its systems, including customer support and dataunder Nest’s privacy policy.
Dropcam’s products include Dropcam, Dropcam Pro and Dropcam Tabs. Dropcam Pro and Dropcam have full 720p streaming, motion and sound alerts, night vision, two-way talk, and pinch-to-zoom. With the optional Cloud Video Recording service, customers can access stored footage for the past seven or thirty days. Dropcam Pro retails for $199 while Dropcam at $149. Live video monitoring is free whil optional Cloud Video Recording (CVR) is $9.95/month for seven days of continuous recording, $29.95/month for thirty days.
Dropcam has raised over $47 million from Accel Partners, Menlo Ventures, Mitch Kapor, David Cowan, Aydin Senkut, Ben Narasin, Institutional Venture Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers.
