Carl Pei calls his new company Nothing. But there is definitely something to it. The co-founder of OnePlus parted ways with Pete Lau a few months ago, sending techies on Twitter into a tizzy. Though he hasn’t said anything out of the blue yet but there are hints at Nothing making a big splash.
The name should be valued
Pei has not only co-founded OnePlus but has taken it to great heights. The vision behind OnePlus was to disrupt the smartphone market with well-designed budget smartphones that don’t compromise on reliability. It managed to win over customers from established brands and turning them into loyalist. Now OnePlus operates as a well-oiled brand.
He called it quits (officially) in October but not because there was some falling out with Lau. Pei wanted to try something new and wanted to give himself a birthday present to himself, he said in an interview with Wired. He actually left the company on September 11.
Not just Nothing
In his new venture, Nothing, he has as investors iPod inventor Tony Fadell, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, and YouTuber Casey Neistat. Another name is Kunal Shah, founder of Cred. He has said in a statement: “Carl is working on a new consumer electronics company that I am sure will be a disruptor in the tech industry.” These are all big names with a lot of innovation between them.
“Nothing’s mission is to remove barriers between people and technology to create a seamless digital future,” Pei has said in a press release. “We believe that the best technology is beautiful, yet natural and intuitive to use. When sufficiently advanced, it should fade into the background and feel like nothing.”
Anything more concrete than this is that the London-based company plans to release its first “smart devices” in the first half of this year.
Many believe that Nothing will be focused on audio products, given that Pei is well-versed with audio products. There is also the rumour that Nothing may venture into services. “Right now... the team is being built, so we want to focus on simpler categories but as our team gains capabilities and skills we want to start moving up,” he has told The Verge.
All this simply say three things. First, Carl Pei hasn’t burned down the bridge to OnePlus. Second, he has HQ-ed his company in London, so Brexit is not a concern. Third, Nothing is a lot more than nothing. He’s busy making something that’s sustainable, original and is a game-changer.
