Nothing takes the step towards independence: CMF becomes an independent subsidiary

The London-based hardware startup Nothing plans to transform its budget-friendly brand CMF into an independent subsidiary. The company's focus is on India, which is to serve as a central hub for production and research and development. Since the introduction of CMF in 2023, when earphones and a smartwatch were presented, Nothing has expanded the range to include smartphones. To strengthen manufacturing capacities, the company is entering a strategic partnership with the Indian Original Design Manufacturer Optiemus. This collaboration is expected to generate investments of over 100 million US dollars and create more than 1,800 new jobs in the next three years. How the corporate structure of this collaboration will look is currently unclear. India’s significance as an operational headquarters is grounded in the local smartphone market, where budget devices dominate. According to IDC, more than 42% of the smartphones shipped in India in Q2 2025 fall into the price category between 100 and 200 US dollars. CMF has successfully established itself in this segment and recorded an impressive growth of 85% during this period. CEO Carl Pei emphasizes India's role in the future development of the global smartphone industry and sees the partnership with Optiemus as a decisive milestone to develop CMF into a globally recognized brand. This strategic decision follows the recruitment of Himanshu Tondon from Xiaomi's subsidiary POCO, who will serve as Vice President leading CMF's business operations. Brand spin-offs have become increasingly common in recent years, especially among Chinese companies. Well-known examples include Xiaomi's POCO, Huawei's Honor, and Oppo's Realme.