Carl Pei, the co-founder of OnePlus, has raised $96 million in a new round of funding for his startup, Nothing. He revealed this new feat on his official Twitter handle. The London-based company plans to use the funds to expand its business into the U.S. and launch its new smartphone. The investment round was led by European venture capital firm Highland Europe, with existing investors GV, EQT Ventures, and C Capital also investing, along with house music supergroup Swedish House Mafia. The company confirmed not long ago that its product sales now exceed 1.5 million units. After the initial tweet by Carl Pei confirming the funding, Nothing also tweeted about the funding while Highland Europe, their financier, retweeted with the caption “Welcome to the @HighlandEurope family @nothing!”
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Nothing’s Journey So Far
Nothing was founded in 2019 by Carl Pei, who left OnePlus to start his own venture. The company’s first product, the Ear (1) wireless earbuds, was launched in July 2021. The earbuds received positive reviews for their design and sound quality, and the company sold over 1.5 million devices worldwide.
The Future of Nothing
With the new funding, Nothing plans to expand its team of hardware specialists and software engineers to ramp up its talent base. According to reports, Nothing has now set up seven offices around the world, with 450 employees. In recent times, Carl Pei has been talking about the future of software. So it is likely that Nothing will be looking to develop services and apps.
Pei’s vision is to make tech fun again as revealed on his Twitter bio. He also believes that there is a real demand for an innovative challenger in the consumer tech industry. Nothing’s focus and execution will be key for the next stage. Furthermore, the company’s success will depend on its ability to compete with established players in the smartphone market.
Conclusion
Nothing’s latest funding round brings the company’s total financing to $250 million, including two rounds of crowdfunding totalling some $11.5 million. The company’s journey so far has been impressive, and with the new funding, it is well-positioned to realize its vision of making tech fun again. The launch of its new smartphone will also be eagerly awaited. However, it remains to be seen how the company will fare in the highly competitive smartphone market.
