Nest Labs is reportedly close to closing a new round of funding to the tune of $150 million. The deal would value the smart home startup at more than $2 billion according to sources close to the situation as reported by Re/code.
Other sources told the publication that the valuation could top $3 billion on more than $200 million raised. Several investors are said to be vying for the deal but most signs suggest Yuri Milner’s DST Global investment firm ultimately came away with the bulk of the investment. Current investors such as Google Ventures, Shasta Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Generation Investment Management, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Venrock will also participate, we’re told.
About a year ago, the company credited with reinventing the thermostat and the smoke detector raised $80 million on a valuation of more than $800 million. But what could Nest possibly have in store for all of this newfound money?
As Gigaom points out, the company will likely use the funds to scale its current businesses, launch new products and help fight lawsuits over existing products that have surfaced as of late. The company was hit with a lawsuit from thermostat maker Honeywell before being dealt another blow from First Alert smoke detector maker BRK last November.
It is unclear how well the new Protect smoke detector is selling but odds are, it’s probably not doing as well as the thermostat. Nest could use some of these funds to better market the device instead of relying on word of mouth and buzz created from the thermostat, but I digress.
