Razer Inc.

Razer Inc. (stylized as R Λ Z Ξ R) is a global gaming hardware manufacturing company, esports and financial services provider established by Min-Liang Tan and Robert Krakoff. The company is currently headquartered in Irvine, California and Singapore.[3]

"RZR" redirects here. For the airport with the FAA location identifier RZR, see Cleveland Regional Jetport.
Razer Inc.
Public
Traded asSEHK: 1337
Industrycomputer hardware 
Founded1998 (1998) in San Diego, US
Founders
Headquarters
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Number of employees
1,451[2] (2019)
Subsidiaries
Websiterazer.com

History

Razer began as a San Diego based subsidiary of kärna LLC in 1998, created to develop and market a high-end computer gaming mouse, the Boomslang, targeted to computer gamers. Kärna ceased operations in 2000 due to financial issues. The current iteration of Razer was founded in 2005 by Min-Liang Tan, a Singaporean NUS graduate,[3] and Robert Krakoff after they procured the rights to the Razer brand following a large investment from Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing and Temasek Holdings.[4][5]

Razer bought the software assets of the Android-based microconsole Ouya from its parent company Ouya Inc. on 27 July 2015, while the hardware was discontinued.[6][7] Ouya's technical team joined Razer's own team in developing their own microconsole, which was called the Forge TV. This was also discontinued, less than a year later.[8][9][10][11] On May 21, 2019, Razer released a statement which announced that online accounts and services would be discontinued on 25 June 2019. According to Razer, most apps will become unusable on the platform, many relying on the user accounts to work. Razer suggests that users may be able to transfer purchases to other storefront platforms like Google Play, if developers and publishers agree to such.[12]

In October 2016, Razer purchased THX from Creative Technology according to THX CEO Ty Ahmad-Taylor.[13]

In January 2017, Razer bought manufacturer Nextbit, the startup behind the Robin smartphone.[14] Shortly after in November that, Razer unveiled the Razer Phone, its first smartphone whose design is based on that of the Robin.[15] They announced the Razer Phone 2 in October 2018.[16]

In July 2017, Razer filed to go public through an IPO in Hong Kong.[17] In October of the same year, it was confirmed that Razer plans to offer 1,063,600,000 shares at a range of $0.38-$0.51.[18] On November 14, Razer was officially listed on Hong Kong stock exchange under the stock code 1337, a reference to leet speak commonly used by gamers.[19] Razer's IPO closed 18% up on the first day of trading and was the 2nd most successful IPO of 2017 in Hong Kong.[20]

In April 2018, Razer announced that it was planning to fully acquire e-payments platform MOL for about $61 million.[21]

In July 2018, Razer made its debut in Malaysia by launching an e-wallet service called Razer Pay.[22]

In February 2019, Razer announced it was closing its Razer Game Store as part of the company's realignment plans.[23]

Products
Main article: List of Razer products

Razer's products are generally targeted at gamers, and include gaming laptops, gaming tablets, and PC peripherals such as mice, audio devices, keyboards, mouse mats, and game pads. Razer has also released a VOIP software called Razer Comms. The Razer DeathAdder gaming mouse is the company's most popular product by sales numbers. Razer mice are used by around 5% of professional gamers.[24] Most Razer products are named after predatory or venomous animals, ranging from snakes (mice), insects (mouse mats), arachnids (keyboards), marine creatures (audio), andfelines (console peripherals). The exceptions to this are the Razer Blade laptops and Razer Edge, which are instead named after bladed objects.

See also

References
  1. Sinclair, Brendan (January 9, 2020). "Razer closing SF office". GamesIndustry.biz.
  2. "Razer Inc.: Private Company Information". www.bloomberg.com. July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  3. "About Razer". www.razer.com. Archived from the original on 2017-04-18.
  4. "Razer CEO to Become a Billionaire With Li Ka-shing Backing". Bloomberg.com. 31 October 2017.
  5. "About Razer: History". Archived from the original on 2017-04-18. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  6. "So long, Ouya! Razer acquires microconsole's storefront, technical team". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on July 29, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  7. "Razer Confirms Acquisition Of Ouya's Software, Tech And Dev Teams In All-Cash Deal". TechCrunch. AOL. Archived from the original on July 28, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  8. "Razer Forge TV - Android™ Gaming in Your Living Room". Razer. Archived from the original on October 23, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  9. "Razer CEO talks OUYA, Forge TV and upcoming game streaming service in AMA". Android Central. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  10. Brian Crecente. "This is why Razer bought Ouya (Hint: China)". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 21, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  11. "Razer Acquires OUYA Software Assets - Razer™ - For Gamers. By Gamers.™". Archived from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  12. Welch, Chris (May 22, 2019). "Ouya will be shut down for good on June 25th". The Verge. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  13. A New Beginning for THX: Why I Sold My Company in My First Year Archived 2017-11-07 at the Wayback Machine - Medium, 17 October 2016
  14. Lunden, Ingrid (2017-01-31). "Razer acquires Nextbit, the startup behind the Robin smartphone". TechCrunch.com. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
  15. "Razer Phone Reviews and Specs". Time. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01.
  16. "RAZER PHONE 2 – FLAGSHIP // GAMING – Razer Press". Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  17. "Gaming firm Razer seeks to raise over $600M in Hong Kong IPO". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  18. "Gaming accessories firm Razer to raise up to $550M in Hong Kong IPO". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  19. Chan, Melissa. "Razer Is Officially A Public Company, And You Can Now Buy More Than Just A Mouse". Vulcan Post. Archived from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  20. "Razer rises in debut after raising 530 million in Hong Kong IPO". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01.
  21. "Razer to buy out e-payments platform MOL for S$81m". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  22. "Razer Pay launches in Malaysia". The Straits Times. 2018-07-05. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  23. "Razer Game Store (gamestore.razer.com) will cease operations". Razer Game Store. 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  24. "The Best Mouse for Gaming". GmrPC.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-01. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
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