Nothing, a London-based technology company, has entered a joint venture with Indian electronics manufacturer Optiemus Infracom to develop India as a global production and export hub for CMF and Nothing products. Under this partnership, the two companies plan to invest more than USD 100 million and create over 1,800 jobs in India within three years. Nothing stated it has already invested more than USD 200 million in the country.
Nothing also announced that CMF, previously a sub-brand, will now operate as an independent subsidiary with India as its global headquarters. The company said the operations will cover research and development, manufacturing, and end-to-end smartphone activities.
“India will play a key role in shaping the future of the global smartphone industry. CMF has been well received by the market since we launched it two years ago. With our end-to-end capabilities, we are uniquely positioned to now build it into India’s first truly global smartphone brand. Our joint venture with Optiemus is a key milestone toward making that vision a reality,” said Carl Pei, CEO of Nothing.
“We are extremely excited about this partnership with Nothing; it will allow us to further strengthen our world-class manufacturing capabilities for the products of today and tomorrow,” said Ashok Gupta, Executive Chairman of Optiemus.
The company noted that this move follows other recent steps to expand its presence in India, including relocating CMF’s global marketing operations to the country and appointing Himanshu Tandon as Vice President of CMF Business. Nothing also raised USD 200 million in Series C funding earlier this year at a valuation of USD 1.3 billion, with Tiger Global leading the round and Nikhil Kamath joining as a new investor.
Founded in London in 2020, Nothing develops smartphones and audio products. The company has sold millions of devices globally and reported more than USD 1 billion in lifetime revenue.
CMF, originally a sub-brand of Nothing, focuses on design-led consumer products and has sold millions of units worldwide.
Optiemus manufactures electronics in India, offering end-to-end solutions including production, supply chain management, and repair and refurbishment across five facilities in the country.
