Amazon paid $90M to buy out security camera company Blink for its innovative chips

By Jean-Jacques DeLisle, contributing writer

Amazon recently purchased security camera company startup Blink, a move that could bring smaller, more portable, and longer-lasting cameras to our doorsteps. The recent acquisition of Blink by Amazon costs somewhere in the ballpark of $90 million, and some speculate that it’s all because of the computer chip that Blink implemented.

 A Blink security camera. Image source: Blink.

Blink’s security cameras feature a proprietary chip, which, according to the company, can record constantly for up to two years, relying solely on the energy provided by two lithium AA batteries. That is no small achievement in the realm of energy consumption, and there’s no doubt that these highly energy-efficient chips will be used by Amazon to their fullest extent. As trends push technological devices to become smaller and more integrated into our lives, the usefulness of low-energy cameras and other devices that last for long periods of time without maintenance can only be expected to grow.

Confirming the acquisition in an email to The Verge, Amazon said, “As one of [Blink’s] distributors, we already know customers love their home security cameras and monitoring systems. We’re excited to welcome their team and invent together on behalf of customers.” Although Amazon refused to comment on the true nature of its buyout of Blink, experts and strategists assume that they most likely purchased the company in order to garner ownership of these particular chips.

Presumably, Amazon is planning on using these cameras for Amazon’s new smart delivery systems, which could include drones or smart-lock home deliveries. Smaller and more energy-efficient cameras could be a game-changer for the future of smart security, allowing homeowners to set up smart security cameras that could allow them to view delivery personnel coming to the door and, with the aid of a smart lock, even open the door to allow them to place a package inside, thwarting the possibility of would-be package thieves. These are most likely just added benefits that Amazon can take advantage of with Blink’s security camera design, being that Amazon already has cameras that can function in this respect. It’s more likely that Amazon is going to use the innovative technology of these chips to better devices that they already have in place.

The proprietary design of the chip will also give Amazon an added measure of security, making it more difficult for others to replicate their technology, allowing them to innovate in ways that other large tech companies, like Google, cannot. The Amazon Echo could soon be equipped with the energy-saving chips, which could drastically reduce their considerable power intake, give them wireless capabilities, and lower their price tag, making them more appealing to consumers.