Amazon cops Nas invested company ‘Ring’ for a billy, continues to flex on the startup world
You may not see Nas’ face as often as a Jay Z, Diddy, 50 Cent, or even a Dr. Dre, but that doesn’t mean the hip-hop legend isn’t working, and this past weekend was a perfect example.
Ring, a company Nas was one of the principal investors in, was bought by Amazon for $1.1 billion this past weekend, positioning him for quite the payday.
Amazon to buy Ring, pioneer of the video doorbell, for $1.1 billion https://t.co/4FjZkDo2az pic.twitter.com/DDDIJCV0fy
— Forbes (@Forbes) March 3, 2018
Ring specializes in a video doorbell technology that allows users to see a video broadcast of their front door through a tiny camera in the doorbell while using an app on their phone.
This purchase is advantageous to Amazon because of how it seamlessly pairs with other Amazon-owned products like its virtual digital assistant, Alexa, which already transmits commands to Ring’s products.
According to market research firm NPD, Ring had a 97% share of U.S. video doorbell sales. Ring released this statement:
“Ring is committed to our mission to reduce crime in neighborhoods by providing effective yet affordable home security tools to our Neighbors that make a positive impact on our homes, our communities, and the world. We’ll be able to achieve even more by partnering with an inventive, customer-centric company like Amazon. We look forward to being a part of the Amazon team as we work toward our vision for safer neighborhoods.”
Nas has reportedly made over $40 million dollars from his early investment in Ring, so you can only imagine what kind of payday it also was for Shaquille O’Neal, who struck an agreement in 2016 for an equity stake in the company in exchange for his appearances alongside in Ring’s TV and online commercials.
Ring is just one of many investments the 44-year-old Queens legend and his business firm Queensbridge Venture Partners has profited from alongside Lyft, Dropbox, Genius, SeatGeek, Hennessy and others.
As Diddy and Jay- Z race each other to become hip-hop’s first billionaire, they best look out for Nasir Jones, who has a team eyeing all the right moves to make him a viable candidate to to reach a billy, too.