Google commits another $150 million towards ADT partnership with Nest

Abner Li | Sep 7 2022 - 8:51 am PT

In August of 2020, Google announced a $450 million partnership with ADT and is now committing another $150 million. Meanwhile, the security company is now partnering with insurance provider State Farm.

Two years ago, Google made a $450 million equity investment in ADT and got a 6.6% stake in the company. At the time, both Google and ADT committed an “additional $150 million, subject to the achievement of certain milestones, to be used for co-marketing, product development, technology and employee training to advance the partnership.”

Google is now putting in another $150 million to “advance opportunities created by this type of innovation, raising its total success fund commitment to $300 million.” It will be used for “new sales programs and other related activities.”

“A smart home should take care of the people in it while also helping to make sure they are protected and safe,” said Rishi Chandra, Vice President and General Manager of Google Nest. “Our work with ADT is building the next generation of smart home security solutions.”

Behind-the-scenes, one thing that has come out of that is an app for ADT installers that makes in-the-field product set-up easier and faster. This includes the current line of Nest Cams and Doorbell, while Nest Hubs are also sold.

There’s also Google Assistant voice control of ADT Command & Control and Blue by ADT smart home security systems. The “over time” goal is leveraging Google’s machine learning to “reduce false alarms and offer better detection of potential incidents.”

Meanwhile, State Farm yesterday announced a $1.2 billion equity investment in ADT for an approximately 15% stake, while also committing $300 million to “fund product and technology innovation, customer growth and marketing.”

The Wall Street Journal reports how:

The two companies want to use data from Google, whose Nest hardware ADT already sells, to assist with planning for what the future of a connected home might look like. One area of focus will be to improve leak detection, a major headache for home insurers, according to State Farm Chief Operating Officer Paul Smith.