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, 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. Razer bought the software assets of the Android-based microconsoleOuya from its parent company Ouya Inc. on 27 July 2015, while the hardware was discontinued. 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. On 21 May 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. In October 2016, Razer purchased THX from Creative Technology according to THX CEO Ty Ahmad-Taylor. In January 2017, Razer bought manufacturer Nextbit, the startup behind the Robin smartphone. Shortly after in November that, Razer unveiled the Razer Phone, its first smartphone whose design is based on that of the Robin. They announced the Razer Phone 2 in October 2018. In July 2017, Razer filed to go public through an IPO in Hong Kong. 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. On 14 November, Razer was officially listed on Hong Kong stock exchange under the stock code 1337, a reference to leet speak commonly used by gamers. Razer's IPO closed 18% up on the first day of trading and was the 2nd most successful IPO of 2017 in Hong Kong. In April 2018, Razer announced that it was planning to fully acquire e-payments platform MOL for about $61 million. In July 2018, Razer made its debut in Malaysia by launching an e-wallet service called Razer Pay. In February 2019, Razer announced it was closing its Razer Game Store as part of the company's realignment plans.
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. Most Razer products are named after predatory or venomous animals, ranging from snakes, insects, arachnids, marine creatures, and felines. The exceptions to this are the Razer Blade laptops and Razer Edge, which are instead named after bladed objects.
