Amazon To Acquire eero With Potential Network Disruption Ahead

Amazon is set to acquire home mesh Wi-Fi networking startup eero in a move that could set the stage for the $781 billion company to extend its reach deeper into the network world.

“If I was looking strategically at Amazon, I’d be looking at where cloud is going to be in the next 10 years and know that anything I can do to deliver robust gateway services—meaning the internet—I can suddenly gobble up that 10-user or 20-user market, which is a large percentage [of businesses],” said Gary Berzack, CTO at eTribeca, a New York City-based networking solution provider standout that partners with Cisco and Aruba. “We always forget we have this telecommuter that’s inverted in the last few years. So many people today work from home or in a shared space.”

Founded in 2014, eero offers products and services for high-performing, reliable and simple home Wi-Fi by using multiple access points that work together as a system. Eero competes against Google Wi-Fi, Linksys and Netgear.

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“I see them going after building smart homes and putting together an Amazon-enabled condo—which they already have a division for today—that puts together all the infrastructure. … But you definitely have to watch because Amazon more than once has quietly absorbed entire industries,” said Berzack. “They’ve absorbed it in a methodical and deliberate manner. I’ve not seen them acquire in the networking space any significant player, but it’s not beyond our imagination that they could.”

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Amazon did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

Eero customers can customize an eero system to meet the needs of their home—regardless of shape or size —eliminating dead zones, ensuring perfect streaming video in every room, and delivering the bandwidth all connected devices need. Eero TrueMesh software was built from the ground up to work perfectly with eero hardware. The company said by leveraging machine learning and data collected from hundreds of thousands of homes, TrueMesh’s dynamic routing algorithms ensure there isn’t a home layout or connected device eero hasn’t encountered before.

With the eero app, customers can set up the system in under 10 minutes, share their network, program parental controls, and run speed tests on demand. In addition, eero communicates with the cloud to receive instructions and updates.

“We are incredibly impressed with the eero team and how quickly they invented a Wi-Fi solution that makes connected devices just work,” said Dave Limp, senior vice president of Amazon Devices and Services, 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.”

The San Francisco-based company sells direct from eero.com and is also sold on Amazon.com as well as in retail outlets including Best Buy and Staples. Eeros’s most popular system is priced at $399 and can include a one-year subscription service for $99, according to its website.

Amazon’s stock is up 2 percent to $1,610 as of Tuesday morning.