Amazon acquires Ring for $1 billion to help boost your home security

Amazon has acquired Ring, a Santa Monica, California-based maker of connected video doorbells and security cameras, for $1 billion.

That will see the E-Commerce giant push further into the home security business: it previously acquired Blink, which makes similar products. Plus, it already offers a Cloud Cam that’s designed for use inside your house, and to allow couriers into your home to drop off parcels as part of its Key program.

GeekWire notes that while neither firm has shared details on the way forward, it’s expected that the Ring brand will continue to exist, as other Amazon-owned labels like Zappos and Twitch have, post-acquisition.

Ring devices already play nice with Amazon’s Alexa assistant, and it’s likely that the companies will work on further integrations between them. With its two recent acquisitions, Amazon will have a fighting chance at taking on Google, which also has an assistant and a smart home device brand in the form of Nest.

The world’s largest online retailer believes that selling internet-connected gadgets from Kindle e-readers to its new Cloud Cam will spark more shopping on Amazon.com. Ring offers the company a popular consumer electronics brand that it might not have replicated internally.

More importantly, Ring’s security devices could work well with Amazon Key, a smart lock and camera system that lets delivery personnel put packages inside a home to avoid theft or, in the case of fresh food, spoiling.

“As Amazon moves more aggressively into the grocery delivery space… we believe smart security devices will be an important factor in driving user adoption,” Baird Equity Research analyst Colin Sebastian said in a note.

Amazon’s Alexa Fund, which offers venture capital to companies working on voice technology, invested in the Santa Monica, California-based Ring.

“Amazon more than Ring can revolutionize home security,” Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said.

Ring was previously called DoorBot, and CEO James Siminoff appeared on the TV show Shark Tank in an effort to raise money for it – and failed. His tenacity, and the decision to stick with the product he originally built, has paid off in a big way.

Ring is set to be one of Amazon’s most expensive takeovers, after its $13.7 billion deal last year for Whole Foods Market.

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