Nest Labs adds doorbell that can recognize familiar faces

Home device maker Nest Labs is adding Google’s facial recognition technology to a cameraequipped doorbell and rolling out a security system in an attempt to end its history of losses.

The products announced Wednesday expand upon the internet-connected thermostats, smoke detectors and stand-alone security cameras that Nest has been selling since its inception six years ago.

Although Nest has been among the early leaders in the effort to make home appliances as intelligent as people’s smartphones, it hasn’t been able to make money to the frustration of its corporate parent, Alphabet. In an attempt to shake things up, Alphabet brought in cable industry veteran Marwan Fawaz to replace Nest founder Tony Fadell as CEO after Fadell stepped down 15 months ago.

Nest had been supplementing its existing product line with slightly different choices until Wednesday’s move into entirely new categories.

The Hello doorbell comes with a built-in video camera and speakers that will make it seem like it can recognize and talk to people.

The doorbell will draw upon Google’s facial recognition technology so it can warn a home’s occupants when a stranger approaches. Google bought Nest for $3.2 billion in 2014 and then spun it off after it hatched Alphabet as its parent company.

Nest is now lumped into a group of risky companies venturing into new areas of technology that have collectively lost $10.6 billion during the past three-and-half years alone. Alphabet hasn’t disclosed how much Nest has contributed to it the losses in its “Other Bets” segment