Smart doorbell startup Ring has raised a further $61.2 million in a series C round led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, with participation from existing investor Sir Richard Branson.
VentureBeat first discovered Ring back in 2013 when the startup was known as Doorbot — which was basically a doorbell equipped with a Wi-Fi-connected camera. In the intervening months, the Santa Monica-headquartered company has rebranded and developed new technology and products such as Ring Chime, motion-detection smarts, and a cloud-based video storage hub.
Today’s funding, which comes a little more than 6 months after Branson led a $28 million round into Ring, is accompanied by the launch of a brand new product — Video Doorbell Pro, pitched as a “premium, compact Wi-Fi video doorbell.”
At $250, the company’s latest security device comes in at $50 more expensive than its existing video doorbell, but it promises a smaller form factor, a sleeker design, and “highly configurable motion-detection zones,” the company said.
But the basic premise remains the same: When someone rings your doorbell and you’re not at home (or simply can’t be bothered answering the door), Ring calls your phone so you can see who’s at the door and talk directly to them. While it is partly designed to deter would-be thieves from “checking” if anyone’s home, it’s also useful for conversing with genuine visitors. With Ring, there’s always somebody at home.
[“Source-venturebeat”]
