Nothing to spin off CMF as India-based smartphone company

New Delhi: London-based smartphone brand Nothing plans to spin off its sub-brand CMF as a standalone India-based company, positioning the company as a homegrown global consumer electronics brand that will design its own products and sell to the world. The independent spin-off now aims to make and sell 100 million phones annually, co-founder Carl Pei said.

In a post on X, Pei said CMF will operate as a standalone company with majority Indian shareholders and will be headquartered in India. The company will have its own team and R&D based in the country, with Nothing staying on as a shareholder and partner.

As part of the deal, Nothing will provide CMF with its engineering expertise, operating system and supply chain relationships as it keeps a stake and stays on as a partner.


"CMF stops being a product line inside a London-based company and becomes an independent entity, incorporated in India, controlled in India and majority owned by Indian shareholders," Pei said.

CMF began as a sub-brand of Nothing targeting the budget segment with smartphones and accessories, driving the company's fast growth in India in 2025 following the sub-brand's decision to be based in India and a $100 million joint venture with electronics manufacturing services company Optiemus Electronics to manufacture its phones locally.

According to the former OnePlus executive who started Nothing out of London in 2020, CMF will aim to sell 100 million phones a year in a bid to influence the supply chain with its own design and product specifications.

99% of phones sold in India are now made in India as the government made local manufacturing a priority in the last decade, Pei said, calling it a massive industrial achievement. However, Pei said the next step is to have R&D capabilities.

"Some components are made locally today, but most of the underlying IP (intellectual property) still sits offshore, because nobody in India is asking for more than what's on the shelf," Pei said.

He added that having a large scale, which India is expected to provide to the company, will help pull suppliers to the country and grow an ecosystem.