Mobile advertising and payments firm InMobi has bought Overlay Media, which specializes in context-aware computing. Overlay Media’s Context Engine technology deliver personalised content to mobile users.

“We are excited to add amazing talent to InMobi,” said InMobi founder and CEO, Naveen Tewari. “This acquisition, along with Metaflow Solutions and MMTG Labs, will help us to continue to be at the forefront of delivering highly engaging content to consumers globally.”

At its heart, the Context Engine technology enables companies to create context-aware experiences on mobile without holding user data on a server. Dr. Ian Anderson, who, as a result of the move, joins InMobi as principal research scientist, told Mobile Marketing that it was too early to say exactly how the technology will be applied, but said it would more than likely extend beyond mobile advertising.

“All processing and algorithms reside on the device, so the device owner retains ownership of the data,” said Anderson. “This means that creative people can more easily create context-aware experiences that extend beyond mobile advertising.”

The Overlay Media team will work out of InMobi’ London EMEA HQ.