Amazon to acquire smart video doorbell maker for more than billion dollars

Amazon has acquired Ring for probably more than a billion dollars, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the acquisition. Ring competes with Nest, among others, and makes smart doorbells with cameras.

The website GeekWire first came up with a rumor that the acquisition would be a fact, and that has now been confirmed by a source from Reuters and TechCrunch, among others. Neither Amazon nor Ring have officially confirmed the acquisition.

Ring makes the Ring Video Doorbell 2, among others; this is basically a doorbell with a camera and a large battery. As soon as someone rings the doorbell, the image can be shown via a video connection on a mobile device or, for example, the Amazon Echo Show speaker. Ring also makes smart doorbells that have motion sensors in addition to a camera, so that the image of an approaching visitor can be automatically shown.

Certain Ring smart video doorbells have previously been integrated with Amazon Alexa. For example, owners of the Amazon Echo Show in English can ask the speaker to show the front door, after which a live feed of the front door can be seen via the built-in camera of the video doorbell from Ring.

At the end of last year, Amazon already acquired the start-up Blink, a manufacturer of smart doorbells and cameras. An acquisition amount was not disclosed at the time, but a few weeks ago, sources reported that $90 million was involved in the acquisition. In addition to a security camera, Blink also makes the Blink Video Doorbell.