Not all new smartphones that enter the market make headlines but Nothing Phone 1 did make stones turn towards it with its eye-catching design and innovative features. While it is gearing up to unveil the Phone 2 on July 11, the London-based consumer technology brand has picked up a whopping $96 million fundraising.
US expansion plans
The investment round was led by London VC Highland Europe, with participation from existing investors GV (Google Ventures), EQT Ventures and C Capital that invested in the company’s $200 million round in 2022, alongside house music supergroup Swedish House Mafia. In addition to the investment, Highland Europe’s partner Tony Zappalà, who led the recent round and will join Nothing’s board.
The fresh funding will be used to fuel an expansion of its business into the US and the launch of its new smartphone. Also, it will help it scale its operations further so that it can produce more products and ramp up sales.
“In just over two years, we’ve assembled one of the strongest teams in the industry and sold over 1.5 million devices worldwide,” said Carl Pei, Nothing CEO and Co-founder. “It’s clear that there’s real demand for an innovative challenger in the consumer tech industry, and with this new round of financing, we’ve never been better positioned to realise our vision to make tech fun again.”
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Carl and his team, who share our vision of bridging technology with the younger generation,” added Tony Zappalà, Partner at Highland Europe. “In an industry as challenging as this, it has been quite some time since a new company of this scale and ambition has reached this stage, given the difficulty and complexity of surviving in such a competitive environment. We firmly believe that Nothing has something truly distinctive to offer, coupled with an exceptional team. We are enthusiastic about supporting Nothing as they take on the consumer tech giants and challenge the prevailing norms.”
The bright side!
Founded by ex-OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, Nothing claims it has launched over 1.5 million products (the Ear 1, Ear 2 and Ear Stick wireless earbuds, and the Nothing Phone). Now, it is prepping for the launch of the next-gen smartphone – the Nothing Phone 2.
The Nothing Phone 2 is expected to be a more high-end version than the previous one. Already, the company has confirmed that it will feature Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and run Nothing OS 2.0.
What’s more interesting is that the Nothing Phone 2 will be available in the US, unlike its predecessor.
