Huge Pei day as ‘Nothing’ raises $200million to value it at $1.3 billion

Nothing, the mobile device startup led by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, (main pic) has raised $200 million in a Series C funding round that values the company at $1.3 billion.

The latest funding round brings in new backers including Tiger Global, Indian entrepreneir Nikhil Kamath, and Qualcomm Ventures, alongside continued support from GV, EQT, Highland Europe, Latitude, and Tapestry.

The funding will accelerate its pivot from smartphone challenger brand to what Pei describes as an “AI-native platform” where hardware and software converge.

Nothing’s strategy is to lean heavily on being different. It uses strong design cues such as transparent backings, visible internal components,and LED accents.  Whether Nothing can break the Apple-Android duopoly is a Big Ask. uncertain. But with fresh capital the company has bought itself more time to try.

Founded in 2020, Nothing is one of the only new smartphone makers to emerge in the last decade, entering a market long dominated by Apple and Samsung and shaped by the Google Android ecosystem. In its first four years, the London-based company shipped millions of devices, generated more than $1 billion in sales, and achieved 150% growth in 2024.

Pei made his name as the co-founder of Chinese smartphone brand OnePlus. He has positioned Nothing as a design-led, community-driven disruptor. Its smartphones and earbuds, known for their distinctive transparent casings, have helped it carve out a niche in a market where differentiation is notoriously difficult.

He left One Plus in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, US and China trade tensions (US-China), and supply chain chip shortages.

Pei says the company’s next phase will focus on an AI operating system designed to “deliver personalised and proactive experiences” and which will be “a billion different operating systems for a billion different people,” as he puts it.

Nothing also plans to launch its first AI-native devices in next year.

Pei reckons that Nothing’s ownership of its own distribution point and brand positioning among early adopters, gives it a unique selling point Investors, at least for now, appear willing to bet that a new player can challenge the status quo.