Encircle March 23 on the calendar. Carl Pei is going to talk about the 2022 roadmap of his London-based start-up, Nothing. It will be an important moment as the former OnePlus co-founder is reportedly gearing up to launch its first smartphone, according to a report in TechCrunch.
The UK consumer tech company has also has announced a $70M Series B fundraise, co-led by EQT Ventures and C Ventures and with participation from GV, Tony Fadell’s Future Shape, Gaorong Capital and Animoca Brands. The new funding will go towards scaling its product ecosystem and establishing its London Design Hub, led by ex-Dyson Head of Design Adam Bates.
Recently, Pei was spotted showing off a smartphone to Qualcomm’s CEO Cristiano Amon. The leaked image has got people talking and comes slightly over a year after the company acquired the Essential brand, which was a startup led by Android creator Andy Rubin that released one smartphone in 2017 before calling it a day in 2020.
The new investment brings the total raised by Nothing to $144M to date, including $1.5M from its first community investment round which broke a record for fastest $1M raised.
TechCrunch has said the phone may include transparent elements like those seen with the company’s Ear 1 earbuds, but that’s more like rumour. So, all eyes are on March 23. Tune in at 7.30pm IST.
