Google Acquires AdMob, Possibly Gizmo5

Google on Monday announced that it has acquired mobile display advertising firm AdMob for an undisclosed amount rumored to be in the $750 million range.

"Despite the tremendous growth in mobile usage and the substantial investment by many businesses in the space, the mobile web is still in its early stages," Susan Wojcicki, vice president of product management, and Vic Gundotra, vice president of Engineering at Google, wrote in a blog post. "We believe that great mobile advertising products can encourage even more growth in the mobile ecosystem. That's what has us excited about this deal."

Wojcicki and Gundotra said the deal will produce better products and tools and more effective monetization for publishers of mobile Web sites and applications. It will also bring better, more relevant ads on a grander scale for advertisers focused on the mobile space, they said.

Consumers, meanwhile, will benefit from more "mobile ads that deliver useful information," they concluded.

Meanwhile, Google will reportedly also acquire VoIP startup Gizmo5 for about $30 million. The purchase could allow Google Voice users to make and receive calls to Google Voice phone numbers from a computer.