http://www.anandtech.com/show/11611/razer-files-for-ipo-in-hong-kong-to-raise-600-million
This week Razer has made a preliminary filing for IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The company plans to raise $600 million for future growth, particularly in Asia. In addition, the funding is supposed to improve the company's overall march with investments in R&D as well as the brand. Razer's recent financial filings indicate Razer operated at a $20m profit in 2012-2013, but ran a loss of ~$70m in 2015-2016 because of multiple acquisitions as well as a tripling in R&D activities with a small uptick in revenue.
Razer started as a subsidiary of a computer peripheral maker Kärna in 1998 and quickly became famous for its Boomslang mouse designed specifically for FPS gamers and launched in 1999. Kärna ceased to exist in 2000 because of financial issues, but the Boomslang was so popular despite its price tag (which was high by the standards of the year 2000) that Terratec brought the Razer Boomslang back to market in 2003. Min-Liang Tan and Robert Krakoff (who used to be the GM of Kärna back in the day) acquired rights to the IP and the brand sometime in 2005 and established Razer Inc., as we know it today. Initially, Razer focused on mice, but the company gradually expanded its product portfolio with keyboards, headsets and other peripherals. Sometime in 2009-2010, Razer began to hire engineers from PC companies like Dell and HP with an aim to develop actual systems and go beyond peripherals. Today, the company offers various gaming gear, laptops, co-developed Razer Edition PC systems, and licenses its designs to others. Meanwhile, Razer is always in pursuit to expand its lineup of products and their distribution.
Previously: Razer Acquires Ouya Software Assets, Ditches Hardware
Razer's New Blade Pro: Desktop Performance in 0.9 Inches and 8 Lbs
Razer Prototypes Stolen at CES
Related Stories
Android game consoles maybe not dead: Razer Acquires Ouya software assets
I wasn't even aware that Razer had an Android gaming division, but apparently it does:
It has bought the software assets of Ouya; and it has acqui-hired the company's technical and developer relations teams to expand Razer's Android TV gaming business, specifically around its Forge TV console and the Cortex gaming platform.
One thing I found odd about the deal: This is only for the software side:
Notably, Razer is not acquiring the hardware part of Ouya's business, specifically the microconsole and controller that helped make Razer's name in the first place.
Isn't Razer mostly know for its gaming hardware? I'm surprised that they wouldn't acquire both sides - unless they really feel that their Android device is that far ahead of Ouya's (which is entirely possible, given the Ouya was a Kickstarter thing to begin with [raised $8.5 million] and as far as I know hasn't had a hardware refresh yet).
The Register explains that Razer has acquired Ouya's employees and assets, but not its hardware division, and will be displacing the Ouya console with its own Android box, Forge TV. It costs $99 or $149 with a controller, the same as Ouya. Methods of migrating to Razer services as well as discounts will be offered to Ouya users. Shaun Nichols notes that this deal comes as China finally ends its 15-year console ban, and a low-cost Android option may gain traction in that market.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
If you want hardcore gaming performance, but need it in a system that's portable, if not completely lightweight, then Razer's new Blade Pro could be just the ticket. Razer is calling it the "desktop in your laptop," and they the company has a point.
On the inside, the system packs a quad core Skylake processor, an 8GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 GPU, 32GB RAM, up to 2TB of NVMe SSD storage in RAID 0, Thunderbolt 3, and a 4K G-Sync capable screen. That's a machine that isn't giving much up in performance to most desktop PCs, so already justifies Razer's strapline... but it's the next thing they did that really makes this a laptop desktop.
The Blade Pro doesn't have the usual membrane keys found in laptops. It has a full mechanical keyboard, with switches—not rubber domes—beneath each key. OK, it's still a laptop, so it's a low profile mechanical keyboard with reduced key travel and chiclet style buttons. But it's a mechanical keyboard nonetheless (Razer also has a similar mechanical mechanism for its iPad Pro keyboard). And of course, being a Razer laptop, it's not just a mechanical keyboard. It's a mechanical keyboard that can be lit up with any color of the rainbow. Alongside it sits a giant touchpad.
[...] There is of course the small matter of the price; it's a little eye-watering. With 512GB of storage, it starts at $3,699/€4,199/£3,499.
Razer is a company that makes laptops and computer peripherals such as keyboards, mice, etc. The CEO announced on Monday that two Project Valerie laptop prototypes were stolen from their booth at the Consumer Electronics Show:
In a Facebook post early Monday, Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan said he'd "just been informed that two of our prototypes were stolen from our booth at CES today."
"We treat theft/larceny, and if relevant to this case, industrial espionage, very seriously — it is cheating, and cheating doesn't sit well with us," Tan wrote, possibly suggesting a competitor stole the machines. "Penalties for such crimes are grievous and anyone who would do this clearly isn't very smart." Tan added that Razer has filed "the necessary reports" and is now working with CES management and law enforcement to catch whoever stole the prototypes. He encouraged anyone with information about the theft to reach out to Razer's legal team.
Also at Computerworld.
tomsHARDWARE has some updated info:
The theft occurred during what was likely a chaotic teardown of Razer's suite on the Las Vegas Convention show floor. Note that there's a $25,000 reward for information leading to the guilty party, good for a year from today.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday July 10 2017, @11:46AM (6 children)
I dig the hell out of Razer kit. Excellent functionality, quality components, and nearly Model-M durable.
No, I don't own their stock; just their products.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 10 2017, @12:01PM (1 child)
* until your internet goes out and the
DRMdriver ceases to function leaving you with a nice expensive (but oh-so-EXTREME) green-pulsating paperweight(Score: 1) by Beau Slim on Monday July 10 2017, @06:58PM
The Cloud is the latest thing! Let's cloud-enable our mouse driver! And make it do popups while players are in the middle of a game! Because that's more important than the driver actually working reliably. But, hey, you can get offline mode to work properly if you set it and reboot a few times...
Fortunately, Karabiner for macOS and a couple tweaks to xml files lets you use the Naga's numpad without Razer's driver. I haven't quite sorted that out on Windows though.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by lx on Monday July 10 2017, @12:41PM
After IPO that'll be history.
Increasing shareholder value rarely coincides with increasing customer value.
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Monday July 10 2017, @02:18PM (1 child)
I was never a fan of their mice after two I've owned wore out from moderate FPS use in about a year (forget the model). I've had older, cheaper, MS mice that have lasted way longer. Don't know if they are any better today. All my mice have been Logitech ever since. They took over production of the Nostromo from Belkin, a gaming keypad that replaces the keyboard when gaming. At first I was livid when they took over the production as they replaced the simpler Belkin software with their own mess with no way to import key mappings. But they have made good progress and fixed most of the problems and even improved the design.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday July 10 2017, @04:25PM
I'm sure it's a matter of taste, but I like my Anker mouse - so much so that I bought identical ones for work and home.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday July 10 2017, @05:23PM
> nearly Model-M durable.
I can't talk to durability yet, but I bought an XBox-like PC game pad from them after one of the reviewers pointed out it has clicky buttons (which was most of that review, in fact).
It doesn't sound like much of a feature, but in the vast field of console controller clones, there's just something to be said for the guys who remember the appeal of clicky controls.