Amazon Buys Ring Video Doorbells In $1 Billion Deal

SANTA MONICA, CA – Amazon is acquiring the Santa Monica start-up Ring, smart doorbells that connect to the internet promising customers a sense of trust and security, Los Angeles Times reports. In a reported deal worth more than $1 billion, the sale gives Amazon new tools to further grow their in-home technology.

Amazon has started dipping into a new in-home delivery service called Amazon Key, which could minimize package theft. But, if things go awry, it'll cause more distrust in the retail giant. Luckily, the lack of trust and security that comes with Amazon Key may be solved by Ring Video Doorbells. The doorbells could give customers the feelings of safety they need, equipped with cameras that let owners remotely see who's at the door. The technology helped lead Los Angeles Police to suspected knock knock thieves in the San Fernando Valley earlier this month.

Amazon currently has Alexa, the home speaker that doubles as artificial intelligence and can make Amazon purchases, Los Angeles Times reports. In 2015, it acquired smart lawn sprinkler company Rachio, as well as home security company Scout Alarm. Soon, Amazon may provide a complete smart home package.

Purchasing Ring gives Amazon more fuel to take on rival Google, which is expanding into video doorbells soon with the line of smart home hardware called Nest, according to Los Angeles Times.

"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," Matt Schreiber, president and chief investment strategist at WBI, told Los Angeles Times. "This isn't just about Ring's doorbell technology. It ties into all the acquisitions they've quietly made over the years.

Read more at Los Angeles Times

Photo by Patch staffer Ashley Ludwig; Video courtesy of Ring Video Doorbells