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Dropcam

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WiFi camera manufacturer acquired by Google in 2014
Dropcam, Inc.
IndustryConsumer electronics
FoundedJanuary 2009 (2009-01)
FoundersGreg Duffy
Aamir Virani
FateAcquired by Google / Nest, rebranded as Nest Cameras
SuccessorNest Cam
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, United States
Area servedUnited States
Canada
ProductsDropcam Pro
Cloud Recording
Dropcam App
OwnerGoogle Inc (2014–2015)
Alphabet Inc. (2015–2024)
ParentNest Labs (2014–2024)
Websitewww.dropcam.com

Dropcam, Inc. was an American technology company headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company is known for its Wi-Fi video streaming cameras, Dropcam and Dropcam Pro, that allow people to view live feeds through Dropcam's cloud-based service. On June 20, 2014, it was announced that Google's Nest Labs bought Dropcam for $555 million, a decision Dropcam co-founder Greg Duffy later described as a "mistake". In June 2015, Nest introduced the Nest Cam, a successor to the Dropcam Pro. Support for Dropcam services ended on April 8, 2024.

History

Software engineers Greg Duffy and Aamir Virani founded Dropcam in 2009. Duffy served as Dropcam's CEO and Virani served as COO. They originally developed software for cameras made by Swedish company AXIS. Wanting to develop a less expensive camera, the two companies parted ways and Dropcam started producing its own cameras that primarily provided video monitoring for homes and small businesses. Duffy and Virani credit Duffy's dad with at least part of the inspiration for Dropcam. He wanted to identify the neighbor who was letting their dog poop on his lawn but they were having trouble finding a security camera that made it easy to record, stream and monitor large amounts of data.

Dropcam received early funding from technology investor Mitch Kapor, and in June 2012, Dropcam secured $12 million in venture capital funding led by Menlo Ventures and previous investors, Accel Partners and Bay Partners. Dropcam has also received funding from Felicis Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The following year, it received $30 million more in funding led by Institutional Venture Partners, bringing the total raised to $47.8 million. Duffy said Dropcam's revenue grew 500 percent year over year.

Dropcam hosts cloud data through Amazon Web Services and Duffy said in 2014 that Dropcam presently records more video than YouTube.

Dropcam has become popular in families watching their children, through monitoring pets at home, at pet stores and in adoption centers. Users have also reportedly caught home-burglaries in progress. Duffy has said, “Moms are using it to catch their babies' first steps when they're not around, checking that older kids have arrived home safely; contacting children who are ignoring their cell phones; and sharing footage from birthday parties.”

Due to the success of Dropcam, several companies launched similar products and services in 2014 and 2015, such as SpotCam and simplicam.

In June 2015, the parent company Nest has introduced Nest Cam as a successor to Dropcam Pro.

On April 7, 2023, Google announced that it would end support for both Dropcam and Nest Secure on April 8, 2024.

Cloud Recording

Dropcam provides optional encrypted digital video recording through the cloud. The Cloud Recording service automatically saves video on a rolling basis, so users can review the past week or month of footage, depending on their plan. All users, with or without the service, can still view the live feed. Dropcam allows users to download the video and create video clips while also allowing for the creation of a public stream. About 40% of Dropcam users sign up for the cloud service.

As part of Dropcam's Cloud Recording service, markers are placed on a user's video timeline when motion or audio is detected, so a user may go back and view those specific events rather than watch the whole feed to search for notable activities. Dropcam introduced a beta version of its Activity Recognition feature for Cloud Recording, which learns typical motion patterns in a user's video stream, allowing for customized motion alerts.

References

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  3. Bergen, Mark (22 March 2016). "Dropcam Founder: Selling to Nest and Google Was a 'Mistake'. A bitter feud brews at Alphabet". Vox. Vox Media. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
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  12. Popper, Ben (31 July 2013). "This company just raised $30m to put cameras all over your house". The Verge. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
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  15. Deamicis, Carmel. "Despite Segway and Fisker, Kleiner Perkins keeps making hardware bets".
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  17. ^ Lara-Cinisomo, Vincent. "Silicon Valley VCs pump $30 million into WiFi video-camera firm Dropcam". Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  18. Martin, Scott. "Dropcam captures $30 million in funding". USA Today. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
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  21. Eaton, Kit (11 December 2013). "Keep an Eye on Children, or Other Valuables". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
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  23. ^ Kelly, Heather (10 October 2013). "DIY home (and pet) surveillance from an app". CNN. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  24. Wang, Jennifer (21 March 2012). "How Three Business Broke Into the Mommy Market". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  25. Newman, Jared. "This Dropcam alternative promises not to eat your bandwidth". TechHive. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 3 Apr 2016.
  26. "Nest Cam: Does It Replace Its Brother, DropCam Pro?". Archived from the original on 2016-09-29. Retrieved 2016-12-25.
  27. ^ Griffith, Eric. "Dropcam Pro". PC Mag. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  28. Truong, Alice. "Dropcam Eyes The Connected Home With The Launch Of A Bluetooth-Enabled Camera". Fast Company. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
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