Google founded the Android Open Source Project after acquiring Android, Inc. in 2005.
Android, Inc. was established in 2003 by Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears, and Chris White. Google acquired the company in 2005 and kept Rubin involved in the project. The resulting operating system was designed for mobile devices and was built on a modified Linux kernel.
Google, along with hardware and telecommunications partners in the Open Handset Alliance, announced Android in 2007. The first commercially available Android phone was the HTC Dream, also sold as the T-Mobile G1, in 2008.
The acquisition is sometimes confused with the later manufacturers that became prominent Android brands, including Samsung and HTC. Those companies made devices, but Google acquired Android, Inc. and led the software project. Android’s open-source foundation helped it spread across many manufacturers and price ranges.