Amazon is getting into home networking. The Seattle retailer today announced that it’s entered into a “definitive merger agreement’ with Eero, under which it will acquire the Wi-Fi mesh network company for an undisclosed price. The deal is expected to close in the first half of this year.
Nothing will change for existing Eero customers, an Amazon spokesperson told VentureBeat.
“We are incredibly impressed with the Eero team and how quickly they invented a Wi-Fi solution that makes connected devices just work,” Dave Limp, senior vice president of Amazon Devices and Services, said in a statement. “We have a shared vision that the smart home experience can get even easier, and we’re committed to continue innovating on behalf of customers.“
Eero, for the uninitiated, offers a home Wi-Fi system that uses multiple access points to extend connectivity to every nook and cranny of a building. The system communicates with the cloud to receive instructions and updates, and its companion app for smartphones lets customers share their network, program parental controls, and run speed tests on demand.
“From the beginning, Eero’s mission has been to make the technology in homes just work,“ said Eero cofounder and CEO Nick Weaver. “We started with Wi-Fi because it’s the foundation of the modern home. Every customer deserves reliable and secure Wi-Fi in every room. By joining the Amazon family, we’re excited to learn from and work closely with a team that is defining the future of the home, accelerate our mission, and bring Eero systems to more customers around the globe.”
San Francisco-based Eero, which was founded in 2014, attracted $90 million in venture capital from Playground Global, Redpoint Ventures, Shasta Ventures, and others, but struggled in the face of competition from products like Google Wifi, which similarly leverages mesh network technology to extend range. That’s not to mention solutions from Luma, Meraki, Ruckus Wireless, Ubiquiti Wireless, Samsung, TP-Link, Netgear, AmpliFi, Linksys, Amped, Asus, Gryphon, and D-Link, all of which are vying for a slice of a market that’s forecast to be worth $11.13 billion by 2025.
TechCrunch reported last year that Eero laid off 30 people, or roughly one-fifth of its workforce.
Eero marks Amazon’s second major smart home acquisition since its purchase of video doorbell maker Ring for close to $1 billion in March. (Ring had raised $209 million prior to the acquisition, according to Crunchbase.) In late 2017, Amazon also acquired security camera company Blink for a reported $90 million.
Originally published in Venturebeat.com
