Hardware startup Nothing said Thursday that it plans to make its affordable device brand, CMF, into an independent subsidiary, with India serving as its headquarters for manufacturing and R&D.
The company first launched CMF in 2023 with a pair of earbuds and a smartwatch. Since then, it has introduced smartphones under the brand as well.
Nothing said that it is partnering with Indian ODM (original design manufacturer) Optiemus to create a joint venture for manufacturing. While the startup didn’t reveal the ownership structure of this venture, it said that it aims to invest more than $100 million over the next three years, while creating over 1,800 jobs.
The London-based startup, following its $200 million funding round led by Tiger Global, didn’t say how much money from this round will go into setting up this new venture.
Nothing’s decision to choose India as CMF’s operational headquarters makes sense for a few reasons. CMF’s smartphones have been priced under $200, and that is the dominant category in India, with over 42% of phones shipped in Q2 2025 being in the $100-$200 price range, according to IDC.
India has also been Nothing’s strongest market, with over 2% market share in smartphones. IDC told TechCrunch via email that Nothing was the fastest-growing brand in the country in Q2 2025, with 85% growth in shipments year over year.
“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,” Nothing’s CEO Carl Pei said in a statement.
The company’s move comes after it poached Himanshu Tandon from Xiaomi’s spinoff brand POCO last month to be VP of Business for CMF.
Brand spinoffs have been increasingly common in the last decade, especially for brands based in China. Examples include Xiaomi spinning off POCO, Huawei selling off Honor, and Oppo making Realme a separate company.
“This move makes sense since CMF has found a market in the budget segments in both phones and wearables markets in India,” Navkendar Singh, associate VP at IDC India, told TechCrunch.
“Another driver could be that Nothing wants to avoid having a value for money rub off on itself coming from CMF, especially as Nothing seems to be focused on the mid-premium end of the market [$400-$600].”