Amazon will acquire Ring, the Santa Monica, CA-based home video surveillance maker.
‘The companies are expected to announce the acquisition this afternoon,’ GeekWire first reported.
The surprise acquisition marks the latest move by the Seattle-based tech giant into the smart home technology market. Financial terms were not disclosed. Amazon is expected to treat the Ring deal similar to past acquisitions such as Zappos, Twitch and Audible, pursuing product and feature integrations where appropriate but maintaining the Ring brand and largely allowing the company to continue operating as it has in the past.
“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,” a Ring spokesperson said in a statement. “We’ll be able to achieve even more by partnering with an inventive, customer-centric company like Amazon. We look forward to being a part of the Amazon team as we work toward our vision for safer neighborhoods.”
Amazon is positioning its Echo smart speaker, with the embedded Alexa voice assistant as a home technology hub.
“Ring’s home security products and services have delighted customers since day one,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. “We’re excited to work with this talented team and help them in their mission to keep homes safe and secure.”