Amazon focuses on chips with Blink acquisition

San Francisco

AMAZON.COM Inc paid about US$90 million to acquire the maker of Blink home security cameras late last year, in a secret bet on the startup's energy-efficient chips, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The deal's rationale and price tag - previously unreported - underscore how Amazon aims to do more than sell another popular camera, as analysts had thought. The online retailer is exploring chips exclusive to Blink that could lower production costs and lengthen the battery life of other gadgets, starting with Amazon's Cloud Cam and potentially extending to its family of Echo speakers, one of the sources said.