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The San Jose, Calif.-based company was started by employees who once designed custom silicon chips -- including the A4 processor on the iPad and next-generation iPhone 4 device -- at PA Semi, which Apple acquired in 2008.

Google's purchase now prompts many analysts to speculate that the Internet search giant might want the Agnilux talent to build chips for its own future Android device.

A person familiar with the situation suggested that Google bought the company, not for the chip expertise or to build actual hardware, but to port its platforms -- such as its Android mobile operating system and Chrome browser -- onto other devices such as tablets, or possibly even television set-top boxes.

"These are systems guys focusing on hardware-software integration," this person said. "It's getting software platforms to work on different kinds of hardware with lots of obscure back-end technologies."

Last month, Google teamed up with Sony and Intel to bring its Android technology into the living room for Web-based television.

Another person familiar with the company said Agnilux has been focused on developing technology to allow hardware to "talk" to software.

"Modular semi technology that allows you to regulate power more efficiently on the tablet form factor," or in other words, may help Google run its software platforms on tablets without draining battery life.

Friction between Google and Apple has mounted as both companies expand into the fiercely competitive smartphone market. Early last month, Apple accused HTC -- the Taiwan-based maker of Google's Nexus One device -- of infringing on 20 of its patents covering technology such as the iPhone's user interface, internal architecture and hardware.

The move, seen by analysts as having a broader scope than just HTC, and an attack by proxy on Google, underscores an increasingly tense relationship between the two Silicon Valley juggernauts, both in store shelves and in the courtroom.