Nest has just announced that it'll be purchasing IP camera company Dropcam for $555 million. According to Re/code, Nest is acquiring the firm on its own without the assistance of Google, its parent company, and will be incorporating Dropcam into the Nest brand. Dropcam makes one of the more popular WiFi surveillance cameras on the market and most recently released an advanced Pro version for $199 late last year. Along with the hardware, Dropcam also provides a service that lets you view what the camera's seeing via the web or a dedicated Android or iOS app. There's an optional subscription plan that'll give you access to Dropcam's Cloud Recording service that records video as well. We're not entirely sure yet on how Dropcam will work in concert with Nest's smart thermostats and smoke alarms, but we imagine it'll open more possibilities for the connected home.

Update: We've since corroborated with Nest that it has indeed purchased Dropcam outside of Google.