Qualcomm buys Irish mobile ad targeting company

Qualcomm has bought Irish software developer Xiam Technologies, a specialist in the targeting of mobile advertising, for $32 million.

With the acquisition, Qualcomm hopes to help network operators deliver more personalized advertising and other content to mobile phone subscribers. Xiam's main product, Mobile Personal Offers System (MPOS), personalizes mobile services by profiling subscribers and offering them content and advertising that it considers most relevant to them.

Qualcomm will offer MPOS as a stand-alone product, but also plans to bundle it into its existing software tools for operators.

While Qualcomm has a reputation as a maker of chips for Code Division Multiple Access phones and networks, it is also building up a portfolio of software products for network operators.

In November it bought a mobile banking software company, Firethorn Holdings, for about $210 million, and in December added Softmax, a developer of software to improve the clarity of voice calls, for an undisclosed sum.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.