On Thursday, hardware startup Nothing announced its intention to establish its budget-friendly brand, CMF, as an independent company, with India designated as the center for both manufacturing and research & development.
CMF was initially introduced by the company in 2023, debuting with a smartwatch and a pair of earbuds. The brand has since expanded to include smartphones in its lineup.
Nothing also revealed a collaboration with Indian Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) Optiemus to form a joint venture focused on manufacturing. Although the startup did not disclose the ownership details of this partnership, it stated plans to invest over $100 million in the next three years and generate upwards of 1,800 new jobs.
Following a $200 million investment round led by Tiger Global, the London-headquartered startup did not specify how much of this funding would be allocated to the new joint venture.
Selecting India as the operational base for CMF is a logical move for several reasons. CMF’s smartphones are priced below $200, which is the leading price segment in India—over 42% of phones shipped in Q2 2025 were within the $100-$200 bracket, according to IDC.
India has emerged as Nothing’s most successful market, capturing more than 2% of the smartphone market share. IDC informed TechCrunch via email that Nothing was the fastest-expanding brand in India during Q2 2025, with an 85% year-on-year increase in shipments.
“India is set to play a pivotal role in the evolution of the global smartphone sector. Since its launch two years ago, CMF has received strong market acceptance. With our comprehensive capabilities, we are now in a unique position to develop it into India’s first truly global smartphone brand. Our partnership with Optiemus marks a significant step toward realizing this goal,” said Carl Pei, CEO of Nothing, in a statement.
This strategic shift follows the recent recruitment of Himanshu Tondon, formerly of Xiaomi’s POCO brand, who joined last month as CMF’s VP of Business.
The trend of brand spin-offs has grown in the past ten years, particularly among Chinese companies. Notable examples include Xiaomi creating POCO, Huawei divesting Honor, and Oppo establishing Realme as an independent entity.
