Advanced AI assistants can help secure your home

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A hustling entrepreneur is trying to reinvent his claim to fame in the era of artificial intelligence.

This is where we find Ring doorbell chief inventor Jamie Siminoff two months into 2026 as he settles back into a leadership role at Amazon.

“What I’ve been working on is how AI can become what I call an intelligent assistant and applying that to Ring,” Siminoff said in a new episode of Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast (video above; listen in below). “We’re working on a lot right now. I feel like I’m also back to startup mode.”

This success story began in Siminoff’s garage with a product he called Doorbot. He pitched Doorbot on Shark Tank in 2013, seeking $700,000 for a 10% stake.

Surprisingly, he walked away empty-handed after all investors rejected the opportunity — a decision that Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’Leary later called one of Shark Tank’s biggest misses.

Siminoff went on to rename the product Ring, turning it into one of the most ubiquitous home consumer products. He sold the business to tech giant Amazon (AMZN) in 2018 for $1.15 billion.

Ring has since developed a host of connected security products, from floodlights to new iterations of its iconic connected doorbell.

Siminoff left Amazon in 2023, only to return in early 2025 to lead its suite of security products.

He said he has been tasked with taking the connected security platform to new heights by tapping into the power of AI while driving a more efficient business.

“With AI, I would not be surprised if in the next year, two, or three, with what we’re doing, that we’re able to really impact those things like porch piracy,” Siminoff explained. “They’re really hard because you need someone to sort of watch the camera all the time. … With AI being your intelligent assistant, if it was watching, it would know what to say, what to do, what package is yours, who’s coming up. And that’s what we’re getting to.”

Each week, Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi fields insight-filled conversations and chats with the biggest names in business and markets on Opening Bid Unfiltered. You can find more episodes on our video hub or watch on your preferred streaming service.

Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance’s Executive Editor and a member of Yahoo Finance’s editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.