Google acquired the company that developed Android in 2005. The company was Android Inc., founded by Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears, and Chris White.
Android Inc. began in Palo Alto in 2003. Its founders initially explored software for digital cameras, then shifted toward a mobile operating system designed to compete with platforms such as Symbian and Windows Mobile. Google acquired the company in July 2005 for at least $50 million, according to historical accounts.
The acquisition brought Android’s key employees into Google, including Rubin, who continued leading the project. Google developed Android as a Linux-based platform and later worked with the Open Handset Alliance to promote it across different manufacturers and carriers.
The year is sometimes confused with 2007, when Google and its partners publicly announced Android and the Open Handset Alliance, or 2008, when the first Android phone reached consumers. Those dates mark Android’s public unveiling and first commercial release—not Google’s acquisition of Android Inc.