Amazon Acquires Rejected ‘Shark Tank’ Company Ring

Amazon has acquired former Shark Tank reject company Ring, Reuters reports.

Ring creates smart doorbells that enable people to see who is at their door without having to open it, a product rising in popularity as more and more shoppers get products delivered to their homes and want security to go along with that.

A source familiar with the deal valued Ring at more than $1 billion.

“Ring’s home security products and services have delighted customers since day one. We’re excited to work with this talented team,” an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC on Tuesday.

Ring’s CEO and founder Jamie Siminoff appeared on NBC’s Shark Tank in 2013, pitching what was then called the Doorbot. Siminoff did not walk away with a deal, receiving one offer from shark Kevin O’Leary that the founder considered unacceptable.

Along with the amount of money he had spent preparing for the show, Siminoff told CNBC Make It in November that he was also upset about the sharks’ critiques.

“I can’t count the number of people who didn’t invest in this, who said ‘no,’ the number of people who said it was going to fail,” he said. “I don’t think [Microsoft] Excel could hold the number of records for it.”

After the show, the company struck a deal with Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, who now acts as a guest shark on Shark Tank. Siminoff’s Season 5 episode of Shark Tank helped increase sales, and in a November 2017 update, Siminoff said that his business was valued at $1 billion.

The deal with Amazon is an opportunity for the e-retailer to focus on its grocery home-delivery service, with the security Ring offers potentially enticing customers to be more willing to let products be delivered to their homes.

“As Amazon moves more aggressively into the grocery delivery space… we believe smart security devices will be an important factor in driving user adoption,” Baird Equity Research analyst Colin Sebastian said in a note.

Ring devices can also currently integrate with Amazon’s voice-controlled Alexa. Users simply need to ask Alexa to show them their front door, and the assistant will see a feed of activity via the Ring cameras around their home.

“Amazon more than Ring can revolutionize home security,” Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said.

Photo Credit: Twitter / @ring