Amazon to acquire video doorbell-maker Ring
28 Feb 2018
In a move that will further consolidate its presence in the home technology and delivery market, Amazon is set to acquire video doorbell-maker Ring.
The deal comes as Amazon looks to make its Alexa voice assistant a hub for the connected home and addresses a major problem with its rapidly expanding delivery operation - package theft.
With the acquisition, Amazon also gets into another point of rivalry with Google, which has a competing Nest video doorbell.
Though the deal price has not been disclosed, according to Reuters it is over $1 billion.
Based in Santa Monica, California, Ring popularised the concept of the video doorbell, which allows people see who is at the door from both inside the home and outside of it, via their smartphones.
The company's Wi-Fi-enabled doorbells use motion detectors to alert users when someone approaches their door. It then sends video and sound to the users' smartphone app. Among its key selling points is letting owners sewould prove a deterrent to would-be thieves.
This is not Amazon's first foray into the busines and in December the company bought Blink, a wireless security camera startup.
Ring doorbells are already in use with 2 million customers. The company's success comes five years after its founder, serial entrepreneur Jamie Siminoff, was rejected on the TV show "Shark Tank."
The company proved that a demand for video-enabled doorbells existed, to enable users to see outside their homes via smartphone or computer.
According to commentators, that is a huge benefit for Amazon, which has revolutionised the way people shop and the manner of goods delivery.
However, there is more to this acquisition than protecting parcels, according to analysts.
"Amazon's really watering the grass, so to speak, to grow into our homes and become more integrated in our lives in ways we haven't even fathomed yet," said Matt Schreiber, president and chief investment strategist at WBI.
"This isn't just about Ring's doorbell technology. It ties into all the acquisitions they've quietly made over the years,'' Los Angeles Times reported.
