Do we like them?

Do we like Razer?

Makes gaming mice, keyboards, headsets and laptops; dual headquarters in Irvine, California and Singapore.

Our score: 6 out of 10. Mixed. Razer has real recycled-materials and net-zero targets, but it settled an FTC case over false mask claims and has a history of data exposure. We'd back it cautiously.

Razer started in 2005, co-founded by Singaporean lawyer-turned-entrepreneur Min-Liang Tan and Robert Krakoff. Today it has dual headquarters in Irvine, California and Singapore. About half its business is in the US, according to Tan.

Razer listed in Hong Kong in 2017, then went private in 2022. Tan and CVC Capital Partners led the buyout, which valued the company at $3.2 billion according to Forbes. Tan says going private let him focus on AI without quarterly pressure.

The biggest blot is the Zephyr RGB face mask. The FTC said it was advertised as N95-grade when it was never certified as one. Razer settled by paying a $100,000 civil penalty and refunding buyers in full, a bit over $1 million.

On security, a researcher found an unsecured Razer store database in 2020 with details of about 100,000 customers. BleepingComputer reported that Razer secured it after a few weeks. In 2023 a hacker claimed to be selling Razer data, and Razer said it was investigating.

On the green side, Razer says its 2030 net-zero targets have been validated by SBTi. It also says new mice, keyboards and headsets will use recycled materials. That is a decent start, but it's company-reported and still partly promises. We land in the middle.