Yahoo buys start-up OnTheAir in bid to focus on mobile devices

Yahoo's purchase of mobile start-up OnTheAir was the second deal CEO Marissa Mayer struck to beef up Yahoo's ability to target smartphones and tablets. The acquisition, like that of New York mobile start-up Stamped before it, was mainly aimed at picking up engineering talent.

By Jessica Guynn

Dec. 4, 2012 12 AM PT

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said her top priority is to get the company serious about mobile. And she was clearly not joking.

On Tuesday, Yahoo snapped up a five-person mobile start-up called OnTheAir. It was the second deal Mayer struck to beef up Yahoo’s ability to target smartphones and tablets. The acquisition, like that of New York mobile start-up Stamped before it, was mainly aimed at picking up engineering talent.

OnTheAir, a San Francisco start-up, enables users to hold live online video chats. Yahoo did not say how much it paid for the company.

Mayer has said she wants at least half of Yahoo’s technical staff to focus on mobile devices.

“Hiring the most talented mobile product thinkers and engineers is a big priority for us moving forward,” Adam Cahan, Yahoo’s senior vice president of emerging products and technology, said in an emailed statement.

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