Nest Buys Revolv, Home Automation Startup

Google's Nest is bulking up its home automation offerings with the acquisition of Revolv, which makes a hub that allows for easy control of things like wireless speakers, connected light bulbs, and - of course - thermostats like the one sold by Nest.

Revolv's "experience connecting devices around the home will help us continue to grow Works with Nest and bring the conscious home to life," said Nest founder and head of engineering, Matt Rogers.

"We have been inspired by Nest since our foundation, and are thrilled to be part of the Nest family," Revolv said in a note on its website. "Together, we're going to create some amazing products and continue to unify the connected home as part of the Works with Nest program."

"Works with Nest" is a Nest program that officially kicked off in June and allows developers to integrate their products with Nest devices. Partner Mercedes-Benz, for example, can connect cars with Nest so that your vehicle can alert your house to your arrival time and start heating or cooling to your preferred temperature.

In addition to the Revolv acquisition, Nest on Friday also added several new "Works with Nest" partners: voice-activated home assistant ivee; energy-monitoring app Life360; the Pebble smartwatch; Rachio sprinklers; and the wireless sensor system from SNUPI Technologies.

As for Revolv, the company's smart hub will still be supported, but no new devices will be sold. Customer data will not be shared with Google, which purchased Nest in January for $3.2 billion.

Over the summer, Nest also purchased home-monitoring firm Dropcam for $555 million.

Nest's move toward a more cohesive home automation solution comes several months after Apple revealed HomeKit at its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June, which looks to centralize control of your smart home gadgets on iOS devices. Two months later, Samsung also inked a deal with SmartThings to acquire the smart home platform developer.