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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.
(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
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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.

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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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