// THE VERGE — HARDWARE & GADGET
Home Assistant says ‘Big tech ruined the cloud, so we’re out’
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Founder Paulus Schoutsen explains why the smart home platform is dropping “cloud” from its name and how a new hub and AI agents could take it mainstream.
Founder Paulus Schoutsen explains why the smart home platform is dropping “cloud” from its name and how a new hub and AI agents could take it mainstream.
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The open-source smart home platform Home Assistant is kicking the cloud to the curb — in name at least. “We are renaming Home Assistant Cloud to Home Assistant Link, because we hate clouds,” founder Paulus Schoutsen told The Verge in an interview ahead of today’s announcement. “Big tech ruined the cloud, so we’re out.”
The move is part of a long-term strategy Schoutsen and his team have been pursuing to make Home Assistant a mainstream smart home platform. Schoutsen says most users find the powerful platform after hitting the limits of mainstream options like Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Apple Home. But it has a steep learning curve, and that’s what he’s looking to change.
I spoke with Schoutsen at the Z-Wave Summit in Boca Raton, Florida, this week about the changes and Home Assistant’s future plans, which include lowering barriers to entry by developing simpler dashboards, making setup more intuitive, and using generative AI to reduce complexity. He also said they plan to launch a new hub next year that’s more user-friendly. “We’re growing up.”