Nothing’s CMF makes India home base with $100M Optiemus JV
The company also announced a manufacturing joint venture with Indian electronics manufacturer Optiemus Infracom to make India a global production and export hub for both Nothing and CMF products.
London-based tech firm Nothing has spun off its CMF brand into a standalone subsidiary with global headquarters in India, announcing a $100 million joint venture with Optiemus Infracom.
It plans to make India its base for operations, R&D, and manufacturing.
The company also announced a manufacturing joint venture with Indian electronics manufacturer Optiemus Infracom to make India a global production and export hub for both Nothing and CMF products.
The two partners will invest over $100 million (about Rs 887 crore) in the venture, which is expected to create more than 1,800 jobs in India over the next three years.
To date, Nothing’s total investment in India stands at over $200 million, according to a company statement.
Nothing CEO Carl Pei met Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of IT and Electronics, to discuss Nothing and CMF’s journey in India.
"Had the honour of meeting Minister Shri @AshwiniVaishnaw - the driving force behind Make in India and the country’s thriving tech ecosystem. There is no doubt; India will play a key role in shaping the future of the global smartphone industry.
"We discussed our journey with Nothing and our plans to establish CMF as a subsidiary headquartered in India - building it into the country’s first truly global consumer tech brand. Built from India, to the world…"
"… As part of this, I’m excited to announce our new manufacturing joint venture with Optiemus, one of India’s leading technology manufacturers - a key milestone in making this vision a reality. Through this JV, we plan to invest over $100M and create more than 1,800 jobs in India over the next three years," Pei said in a post on X.
The announcement follows shortly after CMF’s global marketing operations were shifted to India.
Nothing recently raised $200 million in a Series C round, valuing the company at $1.3 billion as it aims to expand from smartphones into a broader lineup of AI-driven devices.
The funding round was led by Tiger Global, with participation from GV, Highland Europe, EQT, Latitude, I2BF, Tapestry, Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha, and Qualcomm Ventures, the company said in a statement Tuesday.
“This milestone marks the start of our next phase: From being the only independent smartphone company to emerge in the last decade, towards building an AI-native platform in which hardware and software converge into a single intelligent system,” said Nothing CEO and Co-founder Carl Pei.
(With inputs from PTI)
Edited by Jyoti Narayan