Betting big on Nothing

Smartphone maker Nothing has announced a manufacturing joint venture in India. It’s a crowded market, but investors say the firm may be on to something with its out-of-the-box phone designs

- SURAJEET DAS GUPTA

Zerodha cofounder Nikhil Kamath sees him as a smartphone “David” who can battle the “Goliaths” of India, which means big players like Apple Inc and Samsung.

That's no throwaway claim — his zanily named Nothing has been the fastest-growing smartphone brand in India for the last six quarters. Nothing sales have zoomed a staggering 146 per cent in Q2. CY2025 year-on-year, albeit on a low base.

Meet 36-year-old Chinese-Swedish entrepreneur Carl Pei, who cofounded One Plus in 2013 before moving on in 2020 to start Nothing, which is headquartered in London.

The CEO, known for his innovative design and products, for whom India accounts for three-fourths of his smartphone sales, is raising the game in the country — one of the most competitive, complex but promising smartphone markets in the world.

Just a few weeks ago, Nothing signed a $100 million joint venture with Delhi-based Optiemus, under which the Indian company will manufacture Nothing phones for the domestic as well as global market. It also announced that CMF, an affordable phone brand of Nothing, will now operate as an independent subsidiary in India — with R&D and manufacturing support in the country.

Even more impressively, Nothing has just roped in Zerodha’s Kamath as an investor who has put in $21 mil in a recent $200 million fundraise that valued the company at over $1.3 billion.

The company has the backing of Qualcomm Ventures and Alphabet (Google) as well. But can Pei, a late entrant in the cutthroat Indian market, leverage his cult status among Gen Z consumers to jostle his way into the top 10 league?

He will have to make that coveted spot, armed with his out-of-the box product design, which includes a signature transparent body, if he is to survive and expand in India’s 150-million-phones-per-year market.