Tech

Alphabet rolls its Nest smart home unit back into Google

Key Points
  • Alphabet is rolling smart home unit Nest back into Google.
  • Nest was regarded as one of Alphabet's model bets when the company blew up its corporate structure back in 2015
  • The company says that rolling Nest back into Google will help it "supercharge" its mission
Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks during Digital Unlocked Google event at Taj palace on Jan. 4, 2017, in New Delhi, India.
Pradeep Gaur | Mint | Getty Images

Alphabet is rolling its smart home unit, Nest, back into Google proper, the company announced in a pair of blog posts on Wednesday.

When Alphabet blew up its corporate structure in 2015, Nest was regarded as one of the model "Other Bets," but the unit subsequently experienced product struggles and the departure of its CEO. Meanwhile, Google increased its own focus on the home with its line of smart speakers, which compete with Amazon's Echo products.

The company writes that by bringing Nest back into Google, it can "supercharge Nest's mission." Nest's current CEO, Marwan Fawaz, will now report to Google hardware chief Rick Osterloh, and the merger will mean that Google's artificial intelligence, like its smart assistant, will be better baked into Nest products, CNET reports.

The potential of this move was originally reported by The Wall Street Journal in December, Google CEO Sundar Pichai hinted at it during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call.

Tweet on Sundar

"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," the company writes.

Google SVP on new product lineup: Our focus is on the user
VIDEO1:4101:41
Google SVP on new product lineup: Our focus is on the user