Google acquired the startup Android Inc. in 2005 to obtain the Android mobile operating system.
Android Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California, in 2003 by Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears, and Chris White. The company initially worked on software for smart mobile devices. Google acquired Android Inc. in July 2005, bringing Rubin and other members of the team into Google.
The acquisition became the foundation for Android, which Google later developed with the Open Handset Alliance. The alliance was announced in November 2007, alongside the first public Android platform and a commitment to an open mobile ecosystem. The first commercial Android phone, the HTC Dream, went on sale in 2008.
A common mix-up is naming the Open Handset Alliance as the acquired startup. It was a later industry consortium, not the company Google bought. Another is confusing Android Inc. with handset maker HTC, whose Dream became the first commercial Android phone.