Which company originally created Android before being acquired by Google?

Android Inc. originally created Android before Google acquired the company.

Android Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California, in October 2003 by Andy Rubin and Chris White, with Rich Miner and Nick Sears joining the founding team. The startup initially explored software for digital cameras, but it soon pivoted toward a mobile-phone operating system intended to compete with platforms such as Symbian and Microsoft Windows Mobile.

Google acquired Android Inc. in July 2005. The company reportedly paid at least $50 million, and key Android employees—including Rubin, Miner, Sears, and White—joined Google. Google continued developing the project as a Linux-based, open-source mobile platform and began building relationships with handset manufacturers and wireless carriers.

The acquisition is sometimes simplified as “Google created Android,” but that is historically incomplete. Google transformed Android into a major commercial platform, while the original startup supplied the project, team, and early vision. Android Inc. also should not be confused with Apple, Microsoft, or Sun Microsystems: those companies were influential in mobile or software history, but they did not originally create Android.