Amazon Steps Up its Delivery Game with Acquisition of "Ring"
With its latest acquisition, Amazon is getting its foot in the door of millions of homes. The company scooping up Ring, a smart doorbell company, for a reported $1.2 to $1.8 billion, according to Recode. Elizabeth Weise, Security & Technology Reporter from USA Today, joined us to discuss the impact of the move.
Amazon is putting its money where its mouth is in its mission to conquer not only delivery, but also connected home technology. The deal for Ring would be Amazon’s second-biggest acquisition ever, trailing only behind the $13.4 billion purchase of Whole Foods and topping its $1.2 billion purchase of Zappos in 2009. Weise explained how Ring may be integrating Alexa and Amazon Key, a program that lets delivery people drop off packages inside of customer homes.
Ring's doorbells start at $179, and the company currently charges $30 per year for video recording on a single camera. Weise said she expects Amazon to drive the price lower so that the company get draw more consumers into the Amazon ecosystem, particularly Amazon Prime. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimates there are about 90 million Prime users in the U.S.
The Trump administration has ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop nearly all its work, effectively shutting down the agency that was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal. Russell Vought is the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought directed the CFPB in a Saturday night email to stop work on proposed rules, to suspend the effective dates on any rules that were finalized but not yet effective, and to stop investigative work and not begin any new investigations. The agency has been a target of conservatives since President Barack Obama created it following the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
Jeff Benedict, author of 'The Dynasty,' weighs in on the Kansas City Chiefs being the next big dynasty, who he thinks will win Super Bowl LIX and more. Watch!
Susan Bourgeois, Louisiana Economic Development Secretary, talks preparations for Super Bowl LIX, plus Meta’s $10B data center coming soon to North Louisiana.