Nortek Security & Control LLC (NSC) is a global leader in smart connected devices and systems for residential security, smart home automation, access control, and digital health markets. NSC and its partners have deployed more than 5 million connected systems and over 25 million security and home control sensors and peripherals. Through its family of brands including 2GIG, ELAN, GoControl, Linear, Mighty Mule, IntelliVision, and Numera, NSC designs solutions for security dealers, technology integrators, national telecoms, big box retailers, OEM partners, service providers, and consumers. Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, NSC has over 50 years of innovation and is dedicated to addressing the lifestyle and business needs of millions of customers every day.

The headline of a May 24, 2016 press release reads, "Nortek Acquires Next-Generation Language Processing Platform Nuiku." The release calls Nuiku "a next-generation natural language processing platform that facilitates sophisticated voice control across home automation and other applications." I'm into natural language processing -- I follow NLP and applications as an industry analyst and consultant -- so when my friends at Slator asked my take on the transaction, I thought I'd take a closer look. How could I not, reading that "Nuiku is a leader in natural language processing," even though the claimant is biased: Nortek CEO Michael J. Clarke? So was this a successful exit pure and simple -- a favorable sign for other NLP start-ups -- or is there more one can learn and infer from the acquisition?