E-commerce firm Amazon agreed yesterday to acquire US-based smart security technology provider and portfolio company Ring, paying more than $1bn, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Mobile semiconductor technology producer Qualcomm, property developer JF Shea and insurance firm American Family will also exit the company through the deal.
Multiple sources told Axios the acquisition was Amazon’s second largest ever, which would place its size above the $1.2bn it paid for online shoe seller Zappos but below the $13.7bn purchase of grocery chain Whole Foods.
Founded in 2012 as Doorbot, Ring’s core product is a smart doorbell with an attached camera and an attendant app, but it has extended into other security products such as motion-sensitive outdoor lights and security cameras.
The company’s technology would theoretically be compatible with Amazon Key, the technology that enables delivery people to leave packages inside a recipient’s home, and Echo, Amazon’s voice-activated smart home control system.
The acquisition will follow $209m in debt and equity financing. A report in The Information last month suggested Ring was preparing to raise about $160m in funding at a valuation of almost $1bn.
Ring was reportedly valued at $760m as of its last round, a $109m debt and equity round in January 2017 featuring American Family and corporate venturing units Qualcomm Ventures and Shea Ventures.
The round also included DFJ Growth, True Ventures, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, Silicon Valley Bank (which supplied the debt) and entrepreneur Richard Branson. It came after a $61.2m round in early 2016 backed by Branson and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
American Family, Shea Ventures and Branson had previously co-led the company’s $28m series B round in 2015, which included True Ventures, Upfront Ventures and various angel investors.
Amazon’s Alexa Fund confirmed in November 2017 it was among Ring’s backers but has not revealed when it invested. Its earlier investors include First Round Capital, Queensbridge Venture Partners, CRV and Matt Mullenweg, founder of blogging platform WordPress.