Nothing raises $200 mn in Series C round from Nikhil Kamath, Qualcomm Ventures, existing investors

Having shipped millions of devices and crossed $1 billion in cumulative sales in early 2025, Nothing aims to leverage its robust global distribution and last-mile user knowledge to pioneer hyper-personalised AI-driven experiences.

Its AI platform, initially focused on smartphones, audio products, and wearables, will eventually expand across various form factors — from smart glasses to robots and electric vehicles, the company said.

Carl Pei, CEO and Co-founder said Nothing’s initial thesis was to build a smartphone business at scale and control the last-mile distribution point in consumer tech, which now positions the company strongly for the next technology shift.

He stressed that while smartphones will remain central in the AI era due to their contextual knowledge and ubiquity, the smartphone experience itself has stagnated. For AI to realise its full potential, hardware and operating systems must evolve to become deeply personalised, adaptive, and context-aware—a vision Nothing aims to pursue across smartphones, wearables, and eventually into future form factors like smart glasses, robots, and EVs.

Pei argued that Nothing is uniquely positioned because of its ownership of last-mile distribution and user context, which are critical to building an AI-native OS. He added that beyond smartphones, a new class of AI-native devices will emerge—always available, context-rich, and capable of turning understanding into action. Nothing plans to launch its first such devices in 2026.

“Operating systems must evolve to meet users where they are, knowing their needs and adapting in real time,” Pei said. “With this funding, we’re set to build the next billion-unit device category powered by AI.”

The company said that the new round not only secures capital for research and expansion but also positions Nothing as a rare challenger capable of moving fast, innovating deeply, and shaping the future of intelligent consumer technology.

Nothing, the fastest-growing smartphone brand in India for the past six consecutive quarters, is exploring a Rs 1,000-crore joint venture with leading electronics manufacturers, according to a Moneycontrol report dated April 7. The move could help transform India into a global export hub for the London-based company.

Once the JV is formalised, Nothing is expected to invest more than Rs 1,000 crore over the next few years to establish a new facility for producing both smartphones and audio products in India. The company is currently in discussions with top Indian and multinational electronics manufacturing services (EMS) firms.

At present, Nothing manufactures its smartphones through Noida-based Dixon and BYD India, the local arm of China’s BYD, and is now looking to scale up production of wearables in the country.

As part of its 2025 strategy, the company plans to expand its offline retail footprint to 12,000 stores from the current 9,000. Nothing will also launch its first flagship store in India later in 2025, while its sub-brand CMF is setting up its global headquarters in the country.

In a recent leadership move, the company appointed Himanshu Tandon as vice president of business at CMF.

According to Counterpoint, Nothing posted 146% year-on-year shipment growth in the April–June quarter, making it the fastest growing brand.