Amazon has acquired Ring, maker of smart home doorbells, cameras, and security systems, GeekWire reports. The company was acquired for more than $1 billion, according to Reuters. The acquisition may be announced later today and was likely made to fuel its fight for the emerging in-home delivery and in-home services market.
Amazon debuted its in-home delivery service Key and Cloud Cam in October 2017. Then Assa Abloy, owner of some of the world’s largest lock companies, acquired August Home, following the start of its in-home delivery trial.
August Home began to experiment with in-home services in 2015 to grant access to repair personnel or plumbers, as well as to facilitate vacation rentals from companies like Airbnb and HomeAway.
Amazon reportedly wanted to acquire August Homes for $100 million in 2016, according to The Information.
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The Ring acquisition could also support the spread of Alexa to more smart home devices. Amazon’s move follows Google’s effort to consolidate Nest into its hardware team and add Google Assistant to more of its smart home products. Last week Nest IQ Cam Indoor became the first Nest product to adopt Google Assistant support.
