Amazon has acquired smart home company Ring for more than $1 billion

• Amazon purchased smart camera and doorbell company Ring for more than $1 billion, according to reports.
• The company is expected to continue operating as its own independent business with a greater focus on Amazon product integration.
• If the $1 billion figure is accurate, it would make this one of Amazon's biggest ever investments.

---

Amazon has acquired smart home firm Ring in a more than $1 billion deal, according to reports. Reuters broke the news yesterday before it was subsequently confirmed by other websites.

Ring is the producer of home security products like connected doorbells and cameras. It was founded in 2012 and featured on ABC's Shark Tank in 2013 without securing an investment (only one offer was made and it was turned down). It's expected that Ring will continue to operate as its own entity while focusing on integration with Amazon products.

Amazon also acquired smart doorbell and camera startup Blink in December, but we don't yet know exactly what its plans for the acquisitions are. Amazon's Alexa-powered smart speakers would be a sensible place to integrate such technologies—something like the Amazon Echo Show, with its 7-inch display, would be particularly well-suited to security camera products.

Editor's Pick

Shop Amazon in augmented reality right now

Owners of iOS devices have been buying products from Amazon using augmented reality for a while now, but with the release of Google's ARCore 1.0, Android users finally have the capability. Tens of thousands of items …

The tech could benefit Amazon's Key service too. Launched last October, Amazon Key allows Amazon delivery drivers to drop-off products inside customers' homes—even when they're not around. It integrates with the Amazon Cloud Cam and a compatible smart lock to help ensure everything runs smoothly, and with security being such a crucial part of the service, Amazon is no doubt exploring ways to bolster it.

In a statement received by The Verge, a Ring spokesperson said:

Ring is committed to our mission to reduce crime in neighborhoods by providing effective yet affordable home security tools to our neighbors that make a positive impact on our homes, our communities, and the world […] we'll be able to achieve even more by partnering with an inventive, customer-centric company like Amazon.

The reported $1 billion fee for Ring would make it one of Amazon's largest-ever acquisitions, more than Twitch (~$970 million), potentially more than Zappos (~$1.2 billion) but no doubt less than the whopping $13.7 billion it paid for Whole Foods.

What are your thoughts on the move? Let us know in the comments.

from Android Authority http://ift.tt/2F2aNmB
via IFTTT