Nothing, established by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, has raised $70 million in a Series B funding round led by EQT Ventures and C Ventures, with involvement from GV, Tony Fadell’s Future Shape, Gaorong Capital, and Animoca Brands.
The new funds will be used to expand Nothing’s product ecosystem and create its London Design Hub.
According to Carl Pei, “With this round of financing, we have the fuel to realise the next phase of our vision of a seamless digital future. I’m grateful for the support from our community and investors. Our first year was a warmup, and we can’t wait to reveal what we’re building at Nothing during the upcoming event.”
Nothing has now raised $144 million in total funding, including $1.5 million from its first community investment round, which broke the record for the fastest $1 million raised. The funds will be used to develop new product categories in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies and its Snapdragon platform, as well as to expand operations at its new London Design Hub, which will be led by ex-Dyson Head of Design Adam Bates.
The Mobile World Congress was merely a prelude. The young hardware startup spent the show behind the scenes in meeting rooms, debating what came next. As we mentioned during the show, the obvious answer is a smartphone, which founder Carl Pei was eager to show off in back-room meetings with key mobile executives.
Nothing has announced that a livestreamed event on March 23 will be held to discuss some of its future moves. The timeline is certainly consistent with the “by next month” timeline we mentioned in our recent report, implying that we’ll get our first real look at the upcoming Android handset.
Last week during the event in Barcelona, Pei was also photographed with Qualcomm executives. Clearly, the chipmaker now makes elements for far more than just handsets, but additional support can be found in a Twitter exchange between Pei and the Snapdragon and Android accounts.
Nothing’s second commodity, following last year’s ear(1) headphones. As we mentioned in our initial report, the smartphone will have some design elements in common with its predecessor, including some transparency in the casing.
Pei revealed Nothing on January 27, 2021, following his departure from OnePlus. Nothing’s mission, according to Pei, is to remove barriers between people and technology in order to create a seamless digital future. The company is based in London and includes a number of well-known investors, including iPod co-founder Tony Fadell, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, and YouTuber Casey Neistat. On February 25, the company announced Teenage Engineering as founding partners, primarily responsible for the brand’s and its products’ design aesthetic.
