Corsair acquires mechanical keyboard specialist Drop

Corsair is acquiring Drop, an online retailer best known for its lineup of mechanical keyboards and keyboard accessories like keycaps. The deal only includes “certain assets” from Drop, but the CEO of Drop, Jef Holove, put the terms of the deal more simply: “Drop has been acquired by Corsair,” the CEO wrote in a post.

Neither company specifies exactly which of Drop’s assets Corsair is acquiring, but Corsair’s press release focuses on Drop’s custom keyboards business and desktop accessories. “Personalized Keyboards that can be modified by the consumer is one of the fastest growing trends in the gaming peripheral space,” Corsair CEO Andy Paul said in a statement. “Drop has proven to be one of the leaders in this space and with Corsair’s global footprint, we expect to significantly grow the Drop brand worldwide. We are also excited to be able to offer specialized Corsair and Elgato products to the enthusiast community that Drop is engaged with.”

Drop, which was originally known as Massdrop, is best known for its range of keyboard components, which include custom-designed keycaps as well as switches. Over the years, it’s worked with various keycap designers in the mechanical keyboard community to produce and sell their designs and has also produced licensed designs based on The Lord of the Rings and Marvel. It also produces and sells premade keyboards, often with designs that make them easy to customize by the end user.

According to Holove, the retailer intends to continue to use an “enthusiast-led product development” approach. “With a worldwide sales and logistics footprint, we’ll be able to make Drop products more widely available, faster, while retaining the enthusiast-led product development that has seen millions of fans trust Drop for their setup and hardware,” Holove said of the Corsair partnership.

“You’ll see new products from us soon that Corsair is just as excited about as we were in creating them. You’ll see new collabs with community favorites. Access to a world class supply chain will make getting you those products more reliable,” Holove said in a post. “And finally, we’ll have the wherewithal to remain here for you, listen to you, continue to expand the convenience of an in-stock model, and hunt down and present to you cool stuff.”

Corsair already produces a wide range of mechanical keyboards and, more recently, has been moving to make them more customizable with features like hot-swappable switches. But Corsair’s keyboards target a different market than Drop’s, with a focus on gaming performance rather than typing feel.

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Exact financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Corsair’s press release says it intends to maintain Drop as a separate brand within the company and that the keyboard retailer will continue to handle “all existing warranties, purchases and customer support requests.”