Smartphone maker Nothing to spin off its affordable CMF brand

Hardware startup Nothing said Thursday that it plans to marque its affordable instrumentality brand, CMF, into an autarkic subsidiary with India serving arsenic its office for manufacturing and R&D.

The institution archetypal launched CMF successful 2023 with a brace of earbuds and a smartwatch. Since then, it has introduced smartphones nether the marque arsenic well.

Nothing said that it is partnering with Indian ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) Optiemus to make a associated task for manufacturing. While the startup didn’t uncover the ownership operation of this venture, it said that it aims to put much than $100 cardinal implicit the adjacent 3 years, portion creating implicit 1,800 jobs.

The London-based startup, pursuing its $200 cardinal backing circular led by Tiger Global, didn’t accidental however overmuch wealth from this circular volition spell into mounting up this caller venture.

Nothing’s determination to take India arsenic CMF’s operational office makes consciousness for a fewer reasons. CMF’s smartphones person been priced nether $200, and that is the ascendant class successful India, with implicit 42% of phones shipped successful Q2 2025 being successful the $100-$200 terms range, according to IDC.

India has besides been Nothing’s strongest marketplace with implicit 2% marketplace stock successful smartphones. IDC told TechCrunch via email that Nothing was the fastest-growing marque successful the state successful Q2 2025, with 85% maturation successful shipments twelvemonth implicit year.

“India volition play a cardinal relation successful shaping the aboriginal of the planetary smartphone industry. CMF has been well-received by the marketplace since we launched it 2 years ago. With our end-to-end capabilities, we are uniquely positioned to present physique it into India’s archetypal genuinely planetary smartphone brand. Our associated task with Optiemus is simply a cardinal milestone toward making that imaginativeness a reality,” Nothing’s CEO Carl Pei said successful a statement.

The company’s determination comes aft it poached Himanshu Tondon from Xiaomi’s spin-off marque POCO past period to beryllium VP of Business for CMF.